The study of bacterial biofilms in dynamic environments using imaging, proteomic and genomic techniques

生物膜在流动下的系统中引起重大挑战，导致生物堵塞、腐蚀和污染。本项目的主要目的是研究动态环境中生物膜的形成。虽然有许多相关的研究阐明了生物膜的形成机制，这些大多数是在静态环境中进行的;正如我们所知，在真实的世界中，通常维持生物膜形成的环境是动态的，条件总是变化的。支持生物膜形成的相关动态环境的例子包括供水网络，水和废水处理系统以及石油和天然气部门的管道系统。因此，使用先进的成像技术，如CSLM结合基因组技术，如RT-PCR和流体动力学，我们的目标是阐明在不同的流动条件下形成的生物膜，营养梯度，温度，阳离子浓度。该项目的主要目的是确定抑制生物膜发展的参数，特别是在流体流动下。这项工作还旨在探索脉冲流如何在生物膜内建立弹性和强度。最终，随着对动态环境中生物膜形成的更深入了解，我们的目标是确定防止生物膜在这些环境中形成的新方法。

Biofilms cause significant challenges in systems under flow, causing bioclogging, corrosion, and contamination. The main aim of this project is to investigate biofilm formation in dynamic environments. Although there are many relevant studies elucidating biofilm formation mechanisms, majority of these were carried out in static environments; and as we know, environments in the real world that usually sustain biofilm-formation are dynamic and conditions always change. Examples of relevant dynamic environments that sustain biofilm formation include water distribution networks, water and wastewater treatment systems and piped systems in the oil and gas sector.Therefore, using advanced imaging techniques such as CSLM coupled with genomic techniques such as RT-PCR and fluid dynamics, we are aiming to shed light on biofilms that form under different flow conditions, nutrient gradient, temperatures, cation concentrations. The main aim of the project is to identify parameters which are inhibitory to biofilm development, specifically under a fluid flow.The work also aims to explore how pulsed flow can build up resilience and strength within the biofilm. Ultimately, with a more in depth understanding of biofilm formation in dynamic environments, we aim to identify novel ways to prevent biofilms from forming in these environments.