Community bacterial life (2), strength in numbers : biofilms

The fourth lecture, entitled "Bacterial community life, strength in numbers: biofilms", aimed to show that, in most environments and ecosystems, bacteria do not live in a free (planktonic) state, but in organized communities, biofilms, embedded in a matrix and protected from environmental factors, including immune effectors and antibiotics in humans. Quorum sensing , described in the previous lecture, is an essential element in the adaptation of bacteria in these biofilms. Biofilms account for around 60% of the sources of infectious outbreaks or microbial dissemination in the body during the course of infectious diseases. It creates a situation of "recalcitrance" to antibiotic treatment, which considerably complicates treatment and calls for approaches aimed at dissolving these structures, thereby restoring the sensitivity of the microbes involved. This lecture was complemented by a seminar given by Jean-Marc Ghigo (Institut Pasteur, Paris), one of the world's leading experts in the field of biofilm genetics, who has made a considerable contribution to our knowledge of the genes and products involved in the initial stages of biofilm formation, as well as those governing the transition between the "plankton" and "biofilm" forms of bacteria. Knowledge of these key stages is probably the key to therapeutic solutions for dissolving or, better still, preventing biofilm formation.