Journal Articles
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/7915
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Item Multispecies biofilm cities and the importance of the order of colonization(Elsevier Ltd, 2025-09) Pant K; Palmer J; Flint SBiofilms are sessile communities of cells embedded in the extracellular matrix of polysaccharides formed to protect themselves from adverse conditions and are attached to the biotic/abiotic surfaces. In the natural environment, the probability of bacteria existing in multispecies is higher than the bacteria existing in isolation. The first step to a stable multispecies biofilm formation is the attachment and colonization of the surface by one or more bacteria. This review aimed to understand the impact of sequential attachment in overall multispecies biofilm formation, its role in defining biofilm properties, and the possible challenges it could present during the removal and disinfection process. In several cases, the highest biofilm former attached to the surface first resulting in a stronger biofilm which explains the enhanced resistance to removal in multispecies biofilm. Following the formation of a stable biofilm, environmental variables (e.g. temperature, surface, nutrient availability), and metabolic exchange between the bacteria drive the properties of biofilm, finally resulting in sequential detachment, driven by the predominant bacteria. These insights are vital in understanding biofilm formation and spatial layering of pathogenic bacteria for efficient biocontrol and removal.Item Evaluation of single and multispecies biofilm formed in the static and continuous systems.(Elsevier B.V., 2024-12-19) Pant K; Palmer J; Flint SBiofilms consisting of multiple species of bacteria compared to biofilms of single species are common in natural environments including food contact surfaces. The objective of this study was to understand the biofilm formation and the efficiency of sodium hypochlorite (50 ppm/5 mins) on the single and multiple species biofilm of Pseudomonas fluorescens, Staphylococcus aureus, and Listeria monocytogenes formed on stainless steel surfaces in static and continuous systems. The cell concentration of Listeria in the dual and triple species biofilm in the continuous system (7.3-8.4 log CFU/cm2) was higher compared to the static system (4.7-4.9 log CFU/cm2) while the concentration remained consistent in the single species biofilm (6.4-6.7 log CFU/cm2) for both systems. Biofilm formed in the static system was significantly (p < 0.001) more susceptible to sodium hypochlorite than biofilm formed in the continuous system. This observation agrees with the exopolysaccharide concentration which was found to be higher in the continuous system (8.0-15.6 μg/cm2) than in the static system (3.2-6.3 μg/cm2) indicating a positive correlation between EPS production and sanitizer resistance. Epifluorescence microscopy images showed the formation of interstitial voids within the three-species biofilm and filaments in the single and dual species Listeria biofilms in the continuous system which were absent in the static system. Overall, results showed that the biofilm formation and sanitizer resistance vary due to multispecies interaction and the presence of flow and should be considered an important variable in multispecies sanitizer resistance studies.