Hi everyone,
Last summer at ISME8 (8th International Symposium on Microbial Ecology) a
question was raised as to a true "definition" of a biofilm. While I am
sure that we can all agree that dental plaque and the slime-coated rocks in
rivers are two examples of biofilms, we need to reach some sort of
consensus on this definition. I pose the following questions for discussion:
1) Does one adherent microorganism constitute a biofilm?
2) If not, then how many do we need to start referring to an adherent
population as a biofilm?
3) At what point would the term "microcolony" apply?
4) Do biofilms require metabolically active organisms?
5) If metabolism is required, then what type of metabolism should be
essential (proton motive force, respiration, biosynthesis, etc)?
6) On the lighter side, has anyone given their lab a good nickname? (My
lab at Southwest Texas State University has adopted the name "Slime Gang")
It is sometimes tempting to get confrontational during some of these
discussions. I have a lot of respect for the participants in this
discussion group, both on a personal and a professional level. I would
encourage people to enjoy the science (including my first five comments)
and when possible have fun (my comment 6).
Sincerely,
Bob McLean
___________________________________________________________________________
R.J.C. (Bob) McLean, Ph.D.
Dept. Biology
Southwest Texas State University
601 University Drive
San Marcos, Tx 78666
USA
(512)245-3365 phone
(512)245-8713 FAX
Email: RM12 at swt.eduhttp://www.bio.swt.edu/micro/mclean/mclean.html
-------------------------------------------------------------------
To reply to the group as well as to the originator, make sure that
the address biofilms at net.bio.net is included in the "To:" field.
See the BIOFILMS homepage at http://www.im.dtu.dk/biofilms for info
on how to (un)subscribe and post to the Biofilms newsgroup.
