Resistance is not futile: Uncovering the reasons why bacterial biofilms can withstand antimicrobial treatments

生物膜是粘在一起的微生物群落。 这种普遍存在的微生物生命形式导致了与自然科学和工程相关的各种问题，从兽医和植物疾病到水系统和油田管道的污染。 生物膜引起了微生物学家的注意，因为它们比它们的单细胞生物膜更不容易受到抗菌治疗的影响。 由于生物膜在农业和工业中引起了大量问题，因此我们必须更好地了解是什么使生物膜能够承受抗菌剂的致命作用。 拟议研究的目的是促进我们对允许生物膜耐受抗菌剂的遗传途径和细胞信号传导机制的理解。 这项研究利用非致病性的实验室大肠杆菌来应对这一研究挑战。E.大肠杆菌可以很容易和廉价地生长，是研究最广泛的自由生活的生物体。 与E一起工作大肠杆菌为基础和应用微生物学的几乎所有领域提供了信息。 拟议的研究工作将推进细菌生理学的基础知识，提供对区分生物膜和细胞的代谢的见解。 此外，迫切需要设计针对生物膜的新抗菌剂。 不，这项研究不仅将提供对生物膜抗性机制的深入了解，而且还将确定可能被选择性地靶向破坏的生物膜细胞的部分。

Biofilms are slime-covered communities of microorganisms that stick to each other and to surfaces. This prevalent form of microbial life causes a variety of problems pertinent to the natural sciences and engineering, ranging from veterinary and plant diseases to fouling of water systems and oilfield pipelines. Biofilms have caught the eyes of microbiologists because they are much less susceptible to antimicrobial treatments than their planktonic, single-celled counterparts. Because biofilms cause a huge number of issues in agriculture and industry, it is vital that we better understand what allows biofilms to endure the lethal action of antimicrobials. The aim of the proposed research is to advance our understanding of the genetic pathways and cellular signaling mechanisms that allow biofilms to withstand antimicrobial agents. This research utilizes non-pathogenic, laboratory Escherichia coli to tackle this research challenge. E. coli can be grown easily and inexpensively and is the most widely studied, free-living organism. Work with E. coli informs nearly all areas of basic and applied microbiology. The proposed research endeavors will advance a fundamental knowledge of bacterial physiology, providing insights into the metabolism that differentiates biofilms from planktonic cells. Also, there is a pressing need to engineer new antimicrobials that target biofilms. Not, only will this research provide a deep understanding of biofilm resistance mechanisms, but it will identify parts of biofilm cells that might be selectively targeted for disruption.******