Emerging Concepts in Bacterial Biofilms: Molecular Mechanisms and Control Strategies

Sabu Thomas

Jan 2020 · Cambridge Scholars Publishing

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The ability to form biofilms is a universal attribute of bacteria. Bacteria are able to grow on almost every surface, forming these architecturally complex communities. In biofilms, the cells grow in multicellular aggregates, encased in an extracellular matrix produced by the bacteria themselves. They impact humans in many ways, and can form in natural, medical and industrial settings. For example, the formation of biofilms on medical devices such as catheters or implants often results in difficult-to-treat chronic infections. This book focuses on emerging concepts in bacterial biofilm research, such as the different mechanisms of biofilm formation in Gram negative and Gram positive bacteria, and the burden of biofilm associated infections. It also highlights the various anti-biofilm strategies that can be translated to curb biofilm-associated infections and the escalation of antimicrobial resistance determinants.

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Dr Sabu Thomas is the Faculty Scientist heading the Cholera and Biofilm Research Group at Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, India. He has been working for more than two decades on environmental and clinical pathogenic bacteria. He has more than 75 publications to his credit in both national and international journals, and is the author of 12 book chapters. He is a member of the Global Task Force on Cholera Control of the World Health Organization, and a member of the State Working Committee on Antimicrobial Resistance of the Government of Kerala.

Dr Divya M. Prabhakaran has expertise in medical microbiology with a research specialty in pathogenic bacteria in aquatic systems and their pathophysiology in human hosts. Her research interest is decoding the differences in virulence determinants of environmental and clinical pathogens. She has several journal articles to her credit.

Lekshmi Narendrakumar completed her postgraduate studies in Biotechnology, and has research expertise in bacterial pathogenesis, antibiotic resistance progression and biofilm inhibition. Her research interests are identifying novel anti-virulent natural compounds and their combinatorial activity with commonly used antibiotics.

Dr Karthika Suryaletha focuses on polymicrobial biofilms associated with chronic wounds and identification of biofilm-inhibiting targets using proteo-genomic approaches. Her work also includes understanding persister cell development in biofilm associated infections.

Devika J. Das has expertise in medical microbiology, and works on the development of probiotic therapy against diarrheogenic pathogens. Her research also focuses on the health-promoting properties of probiotic strains of human origin. She is also an expert in immunology and has proficiency in clinical bacteriology and virology.