The Biofilm Primer

J. William Costerton

Mar 2007 · Springer Series on Biofilms Book 1 · Springer Science & Business Media

About this ebook

This book details the widely accepted hypothesis that the majority of bacteria in virtually all ecosystems grow in matrix-enclosed biofilms. The author, who first proposed this biofilm hypothesis, uses direct evidence from microscopy and from molecular techniques, arguing cogently for moving beyond conventional culture methods that dominated microbiology in the last century. Bacteria grow predominantly in biofilms in natural, engineered, and pathogenic ecosystems; this book provides a solid basis for the understanding of bacterial processes in environmental, industrial, agricultural, dental and medical microbiology. Using a unique "ecological" perspective, the author explores the commensal and pathogenic colonization of human organ systems.

Ratings and reviews

Il est captivant, détaillé et élabore le fait, très étudiées scientifiquement, selon lequel les bactéries présentent dans notre environnement se déposent sur toutes les surfaces disponibles pour former des structures complexes, particulièrement difficiles à éliminer et qui peuvent libérer de temps à autre des blocs entier de microbes dans la circulation sanguine par exemple mais aussi dans des canalisations dans les rivières etc.... Tout ça est bien naturel et normal, mais si nous voulons combattre certaines infections bactériennes, peut être faut il mieux comprendre comment ces petits microbes fonctionnent.

About the author

J. William (Bill) Costerton directed the NSF-funded Center for Biofilm Engineering in Montana for more than a decade. In 2004, Bill was recruited by the University of Southern California to build a center for biofilms in the dental and medical areas. As one of the world’s top 100 most-cited authors in microbiology, he has published more than 600 papers in refereed journals. He has received several awards and was elected to the Royal Society of Canada in 2005. Bill is widely regarded as the "grandfather" of biofilm microbiology.