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Cultivation of Environmental Bacterial Communities as Multispecies Biofilms

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Hydrocarbon and Lipid Microbiology Protocols

Part of the book series: Springer Protocols Handbooks ((SPH))

Abstract

Microbes play an important role in the biogeochemistry of hydrocarbons and are frequently studied for potential applications in hydrocarbon biotechnologies. The empirical study of microbes often requires their cultivation, a problematic proposition as approximately only 1% of bacteria may be cultured by traditional methods. One promising strategy to grow the “unculturables” is to grow environmental microbes directly as mixed species biofilms – surface-bound, slime-encapsulated microbial communities. Mixed species biofilms can mimic natural environmental conditions and support microbial growth through beneficial social interactions between microbes, along with the inclusion of cell-cell signaling. Here, we describe a simple, flexible method for growing environmental mixed species biofilms in vitro using the Calgary Biofilm Device (CBD). Additionally, we describe a battery of assays for biofilm characterization. Using our approach, we have successfully grown mixed-species biofilms from a variety of hydrocarbon-contaminated environments, while demonstrating high retention of the original microbial diversity and the metabolic potential for biotechnology applications.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biofilm Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada

    Marc A. Demeter, Joe Lemire, Susanne Golby, Monika Schwering, Howard Ceri & Raymond J. Turner

Authors
  1. Marc A. Demeter
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  2. Joe Lemire
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  3. Susanne Golby
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  4. Monika Schwering
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  5. Howard Ceri
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  6. Raymond J. Turner
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Raymond J. Turner .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biological Sciences, University of Essex, Colchester, Essex, United Kingdom

    Terry J. McGenity

  2. Institute of Microbiology, Technical University Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany

    Kenneth N. Timmis

  3. Department of Biology, University of the Balearic Islands and Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies (IMEDEA, UIB-CSIC), Palma de Mallorca, Spain

    Balbina Nogales

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© 2015 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Demeter, M.A., Lemire, J., Golby, S., Schwering, M., Ceri, H., Turner, R.J. (2015). Cultivation of Environmental Bacterial Communities as Multispecies Biofilms. In: McGenity, T., Timmis, K., Nogales , B. (eds) Hydrocarbon and Lipid Microbiology Protocols. Springer Protocols Handbooks. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/8623_2015_82

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/8623_2015_82

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-662-45178-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-662-45179-3

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