Abstract
Microorganisms seldom exist as individuals or a part of a population of genetically identical cells, in their natural environment. Rather, they live together with a variety of microbial species as complex communities. Fungi and bacteria represent two of the most ubiquitous types of microorganisms in nature. They reside together in a wide variety of environmental niches ranging from soil matrices to communities found on and within surfaces of complex organisms, including human beings. Interactions between these microbial species become indispensable due to the close physical associations in these environmental niches and can be either synergistic or antagonistic. Understanding the nature of these interactions is important as these play a significant role in a plethora of processes ranging from crop yield in agriculture to debilitating human diseases. This book chapter will discuss the various facets of interkingdom polymicrobial biofilms formed by interactions between bacterial and fungal species with a focus on how this contributes to the ability of these microorganisms to cause recalcitrant infections.
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Acknowledgments
I would like to thank Dr. Sunil Laxman (inStem, Bengaluru, India) and Dr. Vikas Yadav (Duke University, Durham, USA) for critical reading and comments on the book chapter. This work was supported by a DBT-Wellcome Trust India Alliance Early Career Fellowship (IA/E/16/1/502996) to SV.
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Varahan, S. (2023). Unity in Diversity: Interkingdom Polymicrobial Biofilms in Disease. In: Kaushik, K.S., Darch, S.E. (eds) Multispecies Biofilms. Springer Series on Biofilms, vol 12. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-15349-5_9
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