Bacteria attach to abiotic and biotic surfaces to form biofilm. Sheltered within a self-produced matrix of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), bacteria in biofilms are protected from stresses such as antibiotics, desiccation, radiation and attack from host immune defenses. Standard cleaning procedures are therefore inefficient, and conventional antibiotic treatments fail to eradicate biofilm infections.
The increasing occurrence of antimicrobial resistance is driving an interest in development of antimicrobial surfaces that hinder attachment in a nontoxic manner, rather than releasing biocides. The basis for such developments is a detailed understanding mechanisms and forces involved in bacterial attachment. My group investigates the adhesive biomolecules bacteria use to interact with and attach to abiotic surfaces. One of these biomolecules is DNA. This lecture will address the interactive forces that lead to attachment of bacteria, and the role that DNA plays in this.