Journal
FEMS MICROBIOLOGY LETTERS
Volume 362, Issue 15, Pages -Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1093/femsle/fnv120
Keywords
Borrelia burgdorferi; Borrelia afzelii; Borrelia garinii; biofilm; atomic force microscopy; EPS
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Funding
- University of New Haven
- Lymedisease. org
- Tom Crawford's Leadership Children's Foundation
- Midwest Lyme Foundation
- National Philanthropic Trust
- Warman Family
- NH Charitable Foundation
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Bacterial biofilms are microbial communities held together by an extracellular polymeric substance matrix predominantly composed of polysaccharides, proteins and nucleic acids. We had previously shown that Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, the causative organism of Lyme disease in the United States is capable of forming biofilms in vitro. Here, we investigated biofilm formation by B. afzelii and B. garinii, which cause Lyme disease in Europe. Using various histochemistry and microscopy techniques, we show that B. afzelii and B. garinii form biofilms, which resemble biofilms formed by B. burgdorferi sensu stricto. High-resolution atomic force microscopy revealed similarities in the ultrastructural organization of the biofilms form by three Borrelia species. Histochemical experiments revealed a heterogeneous organization of exopolysaccharides among the three Borrelia species. These results suggest that biofilm formation might be a common trait of Borrelia genera physiology.
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