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Biofilms, bacterial signaling, and their ties to marine biology

  • Review Paper
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Journal of Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology

Abstract

Much of what is know about quorum sensing has come from the study of marine biology. The original description of the phenomenon was based on the study of marine bacteria and the luminescent pathway. More recently, aquatic organisms have been found to inhibit bacterial fouling of surfaces by blocking signaling pathways in the bacteria. These signaling effects have, over the last 5 years, been linked to biofilms. However, this correlation is not as straight forward as originally believed. Here, a brief overview of quorum sensing, and background on biofilms is provided, followed by a discussion of more recent work looking at the effects that environment may have on signal expression.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Dr. Matt Parsek and Dr. Morten Hentzer for providing the GFP reporter strain used in this work. Thanks to Sequoia Sciences for their aid in examining antifouling chemistries.

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  1. Center for Biofilm Engineering, Montana State University, 366 EPS, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA

    Mark Pasmore & J. William Costerton

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  1. Mark Pasmore
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  2. J. William Costerton
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Correspondence to Mark Pasmore.

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Pasmore, M., Costerton, J.W. Biofilms, bacterial signaling, and their ties to marine biology. J IND MICROBIOL BIOTECHNOL 30, 407–413 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10295-003-0069-6

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