Center for Biofilm Engineering

News Update: 

October, 2003

Volume 6, Issue 10

Research Highlights

Paper Spotlight by Anne Camper

Movement, Replication, and Emigration Rates of Individual Bacteria in a Biofilm

This research was done to obtain quantitative information on the division and motion of individual bacteria in a biofilm with the goal of providing input parameters for cellular automata biofilm models. The work confirms that bacteria in nascent biofilms are dynamic and variable in their behavior. The time to division, emigration, and rate of motility of individual green fluorescent (GFP) protein labeled Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 cells in a 3-10 μm thick biofilm containing predominantly non-GFP labeled cells were calculated based on images of individual cells collected at 15 minute time intervals. The biofilms were grown in flow cells and the images captured with a confocal laser microscope. Cells destined to emigrate were more active than those that remained (geometric means for velocities of 1.5 μm/h and 1.0 μm/h, respectively). The median time to emigration was 2.0 hours. During the experimental observation period, the estimated probability for emigration was 0.44, illustrating that a substantial number of bacteria leave the field of view. Cells emigrated at a median time one-third that of the median time to replication. Specifically, the median time for cells to divide was 6.9 hours, and it was estimated that 10% of the cells had a time to division greater than 10 hours.

Rice, A.R., M.A. Hamilton, and A.K. Camper, "Movement, Replication, and Emigration Rates of Individual Bacteria in a Biofilm," Microb. Ecol., 45(2):163-172 (2003).

NSF Grant Awarded

Dr. Anne Camper received a five-year Biocomplexity in the Environment Materials Use: Science, Engineering and Society (MUSES) grant. Montana State University will collaborate with Virginia Tech on the project, “Towards Sustainable Materials for Drinking Water Infrastructure,” and receive approximately $145,000. The project addresses research issues associated with sustainable materials for drinking water. In the United States, the declining public infrastructure loses 10-32% of potable water resource to holes formed by corrosion, and the cost to simply repair and replace degraded pipes is estimated at $22 billion per year for the public (utility) infrastructure and nearly twice that for private (residential, commercial, school) infrastructures. Leakage and changes in water quality can occur in copper and plastic plumbing systems. This investigation is driven in part by observations of corrosion and pinhole leakage in copper water systems due to reduced natural organic matter in the water, an unintended consequence of emerging water quality requirements that is proving a fruitful focus for technical research with high social impact.

Standardized Biofilm Methods

Marty Hamilton attended the 117th Association of Analytical Communities (AOAC) Annual Meeting & Exposition in Atlanta, September 14-18, 2003. At the meeting of the Presidential Task Force on Disinfectants, he gave a brief presentation of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa growth protocol for the CDC Biofilm Reactor; the protocol has been thoroughly evaluated in-house by the CBE Standardized Biofilm Methods research group. He also attended the meetings of the Methods Committee on Microbiology and the Microstat Task Force. The Microstat group is searching for statistical calculations alternative to those required by the AOAC when substantiating new qualitative tests for the microbiological examination of food. The AOAC committees are making a serious effort to harmonize their methods with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

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International Workshop Grant

The Pan-American Advanced Studies Institutes Program (PASI) recently awarded the CBE a one-year grant to conduct an international workshop, “Techniques for Biofilm Community Analysis” This workshop will incorporate an exchange of students from Latin America and North America to expand their diverse educational and cultural experience in the area of biofilm research. To accomplish this exchange, one workshop will be delivered at the University of Concepcion, Concepcion, Chile and another workshop will be held at the Center for Biofilm Engineering, Bozeman, Montana. Dates for the workshop at Concepcion will be January 12-30, 2004 and the workshop in Bozeman will be held June 28-July 16, 2004.

New Chair of IWA Specialists Group

Dr. Lewandowski has been elected chairman of the IWA Specialists Group, “Biofilm Processes and Systems.” He will actively become chairman after the IWA Conference on Biofilm Structure and Activity, Las Vegas, NV, May 25-28 2004.

Call for Papers for Biofilms 2004

You are invited to submit an abstract of a full paper to the International Conference, Biofilms 2004: Structure and Activity of Biofilms, to be held in Las Vegas, NV, USA, May 25-27, 2004. All submitted abstracts will be peer reviewed before acceptance.

Topic areas are: 1) Biofilm Structure, 2) Biofilm Activity, 3) Biofilm Physiology and Genetics, 4) Modeling Biofilm Structure and Activity, and 5) Applications: Biofilm Structure and Activity in Natural and Engineered Systems.

For more details see: http://www.erc.montana.edu/biofilms2004/default.htm

Hazardous Materials Audit

Linda Loetterle, biosafety officer of the CBE laboratories received a spot audit by the Office of Security and Hazardous Materials, and passed with flying colors. She received high compliments for her thoroughness, and her work may even be used as an example in the Northwest region for how to handle documentation of infectious agents.

Education

Drs. Paul Stoodley and Anne Camper are featured in two new e-learning courses offered by Cytergy (www.CYTERGY.com). TAC Member Companies are eligible for a 25% discount off any Cytergy products, including both single user and enterprise product licenses. Order by telephone (mention our TAC Coupon Code: CBE603) to receive your discount: +1.406.582.0846.

Biofilms: An Introduction to Microbial Biofilm Science and Engineering
by Dr. Paul Stoodley
http://www.cytergy.com/cgi-bin/cytergy/CW_SHC_2003_0013.html

Drinking Water Distribution Systems as Targets of Bioterrorism: A Scientific Review of Terrorist Strategies, Public Health Concerns, and Early Warning Systems
by Dr. Anne Camper
http://www.cytergy.com/cgi-bin/cytergy/CW_SHC_2003_0008.html

In the Media

Press Release

One of the CBE workshop attendees, Brett Baker from Anchorage, AK, has landed a National Institutes of Health, Small Business Innovation Research grant to develop a disinfectant for hospitals. See the complete story at the web address below.

Germ fighter
Chiropractor gets $100,000 to research ways to combat hospital bacteria
By Sarana Schell
Anchorage Daily News, September 29, 2003
See http://www.adn.com/business/story/4037524p-4058589c.html

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Books

Two books published in October contain chapters written by CBE authors.

Fossil and Recent Biofilms: A Natural History of Life on Earth
edited by W.E. Krumbein, D.M. Paterson, and G.A. Zavarzin
ISBN 1-4020-1597-6
published by Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht
http://www.wkap.nl/prod/b/1-4020-1597-6

Hernia Infections
edited by M. Deysine
ISBN: 0-8247-4612-0
published by Marcel Dekker
http://www.dekker.com/servlet/product/productid/4612-0

 

CBE People in Action

Zbigniew Lewandowski presented, “Reproducibility of Biofilm Processes” at the IWA Biofilm Congress, Cape Town, South Africa, September 15-18, 2003. Dr. Lewandowski also chaired the Biofilm Structure session.

Bill Costerton was an invited speaker for the Hospital Association of Neighborhood Dentists in Whippany, NJ. Bill's talk was titled: "Biofilms in the Oral Environment." September 17, 2003.

Al Cunningham (CBE) and Rainer Helmig (Institute fur Wasserbau at the Universitat Stuttgart, Germany) taught a short course “Multiphase Flow, Transport and Bioremediation in the Subsurface,” Stuttgart, Germany, September 19-30, 2003.

Erica Gjersing and Justin Gage presented the following posters on biofilms at the 7th International Conference on Magnetic Resonance Microscopy at Snowbird, UT.

Erica L. Gjersing, Sarah L. Codd, Phil S. Stewart, and Joseph D. Seymour, "NMR Microscopy of Biofilm Structure and Bioreactor Fluid Dynamics", 7th International Conference on Magnetic Resonance Microscopy, Snowbird, UT, September 21-25, 2003. Poster P13.

Justin P. Gage, Sarah L. Codd, Robin Gerlach and Joseph D. Seymour, "NMR Microscopy of Microbial Transport in Porous Media", 7th International Conference on Magnetic Resonance Microscopy, Snowbird, UT, September 21-25, 2003. Poster P10.

Marty Hamilton presented “A Good Experiment is Repeatable” at the annual meeting of the Montana Chapter of the American Statistical Association , Butte, MT, September 23, 2003. This meeting concluded Marty’s term as president of the chapter.

Bill Costerton was an invited speaker at the Fresenius Medical Care North America 7th Annual Medical Director Symposium in Salt Lake City, UT. Bill's talk was titled: "Bacterial Biofilms - Their Role in Catheter Sepsis and in the Contamination of Dialysis Fluids." September 24, 2003.

Bill Costerton was an invited speaker at the Ferris State University Dental seminar on Mackinac Island, MI. Bill presented "Biofilm Control in the Oral Environment: The Dental Professional's Dream!" September 27, 2003.

Bill Costerton was a keynote speaker at the 11th International Conference on Microbial Genomes at the Millennium Hotel in Durham, NC. Bill presented "The Biofilm Phenotype: Genes Expressed in the Predominant Bacterial Mode of Growth," September 28-29, 2003.

Bill Costerton was an invited speaker at the Department of Biology at Denison University in Granville, OH, October 2-3, 2003. Bill presented "Biofilms: The Predominant Mode of Growth of Bacteria in Natural and Pathogenic Ecosystems."

Thomas Borch presented “Iron(III)Minerals Can Impact the Microbial Reduction of 2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene, The Third Annual INRA Subsurface Science Symposium, Salt Lake City, UT, October 5-8, 2003.

Web Watch

BiofilmsOnline.com

See the BiofilmsOnline.com October issue at http://www.BiofilmsOnline.com

Recent Web Updates

Check the Recent Web Updates link located on the CBE home page to view the latest information posted on the CBE web.

See http://www.erc.montana.edu/Recent%20Web%20Updates/default.htm

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Diane Williams  editor of the CBE News Update