China
Africa
Explore chapters and articles related to this topic
Role of Indigenous Microbial Community in Bioremediation
Published in Vineet Kumar, Vinod Kumar Garg, Sunil Kumar, Jayanta Kumar Biswas, Omics for Environmental Engineering and Microbiology Systems, 2023
Bhupendra Pushkar, Pooja Sevak
Microbes in biofilm express specific genes in coordination to combat pollution. Biofilm formation enables higher resistance against lethal pollutants (Shukla et al., 2014). Microbes in biofilms communicate and coordinate through various signalling molecules that form a system called quorum sensing. Quorum sensing regulates the changes in the biofilm as per the need of the surrounding environment. Biofilm also promotes gene transfer among microbes, which increases the rate of DNA and plasmid transfer. The rapid exchange of resistant genes among microbes in biofilm promotes resistance in microbes and also increases the rate of bioremediation (Singh et al., 2006). Moreover, bioremediation using biofilms offers an alternative strategy (Shukla et al., 2014).
Role of Microbial Biofilm in Agriculture and Their Impact on Environment
Published in Bakrudeen Ali Ahmed Abdul, Microbial Biofilms, 2020
Asma Rehman, Lutfur Rahman, Ata Ullah, Muhammad Bilal Yazdani, Muhammad Irfan, Waheed S. Khan
Keeping in view the beneficial characteristics of biofilms, their applications are increasing in various fields such as fermentation, water filtration, and purification, in agriculture (i.e., biofertilizers, soil texture improver, etc.), biofouling, anticorrosive agents, antimicrobials, as microbial fuel cells as well as in environment and biomedicines. In agriculture biofilms have significant importance and can be used as nutrient mobilizers, biocontrol agents, biofertilizers, and plant growth promotors. Further biofilms may inhibit plant pathogen growth, and their pathogenicity as well has an important role in bioremediation. The potential use of biofilm in agriculture has been reviewed in fields like biofertilizers, biocontrol agent, bioremediation, plant growth promotion, etc. (Velmourougane, Prasanna, and Saxena 2017).
Landfill-Covering Soils
Published in Eric Senior, Microbiology of Landfill Sites, 2020
Chris A. du Plessis, Jeff C. Hughes
Biofilm development and its importance have been well documented.66 Biofilm accumulation within porous media such as soil can substantially reduce the hydraulic conductivity.67 The increased resistance to flow is due to the reduction of the effective pore space caused by attached cells and their extracellular matrices. Microorganisms growing as biofilms in the subsurface (or soils) have an advantage over suspended species in that they can remain near the source of fresh substrate and nutrients contained in the groundwater which flows by them. The rate of biofilm growth and, thus, the rate of biotransformation is, therefore, strongly influenced by transport characteristics, including velocity distribution within pores, dispersivity, surface roughness (all of which are dependent on soil composition), molecular diffusivity, and other variables which affect the delivery rate of substrate and nutrients to the growing cells. Hydraulic flow rate has an influence on retention time which, in turn, has an influence on biotransformations and biodegradation of organic pollutant chemicals. The longer an organic molecule is retained within a soil pore, the greater the probability that the molecule will be adsorbed or catabolized. The interactions between hydraulic conductivity and adsorption and catabolism are discussed later. Biofilm development per se also seems to be beneficial because of accumulation (organics and inorganics) and subsequent degradation (organics) of leachate pollutants.
Preparation, properties, applications and outlook of graphene-based materials in biomedical field: a comprehensive review
Published in Journal of Biomaterials Science, Polymer Edition, 2023
Luyang Yao, Anqi Chen, Li Li, Yu Liu
In the field of biomedicine, the control of the source of infection is in the whole cycle of research and development, production and clinical application. In polluted environment, people are easily infected by pathogenic microorganisms without effective protection. For medical apparatus and instruments, particularly implantable medical devices, such as bone nails, bone plates, artificial organs, heart stents, artificial joints, cardiac pacemakers and interventional and indwelling medical devices, such as catheters, injection needles, puncture needles, nephrostomy tubes, need to reach certain anti-bacterial levels according to the regulations. Biofilms attach to infected surfaces, help bacterial colonization and are often difficult to disinfect with disinfectants and surfactants, that can be effectively and efficiently prevented by coating the surface with anti-bacterial materials.
The role of hygrodynamic resistance compared to biofilm formation in helping pathogenic bacteria dominate air-conditioning units recovered from odour problems
Published in Environmental Technology, 2023
Wing Lam Chan, Liwen Luo, Haoxiang Wu
The process of biofilm formation in bacteria generally consists of three stages: attachment, maturation, and dispersion. In the first stage, planktonic bacteria come into contact with a surface. The bacteria will start to form a monolayer and will produce extracellular matrix. The extracellular matrix consists of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) comprised of exopolysaccharides, structural proteins, cell debris, and nucleic acids. Bacteria microcolonies are then formed, and will grow in a three-dimensional manner to form mature biofilm. In the last stage, some cells of the mature bacterial biofilm detach and disperse into the environment as planktonic cells to potentially start a new cycle of biofilm formation elsewhere [29–31]. Multiple species are required to cooperate to form stable biofilms through quorum sensing, which allows bacterial cells to communicate with each other and behave as a group for interactions between various organisms. This interaction enhances substrate exchange, distribution of metabolic products and removal of toxic substances [32]. Thus, the formation of biofilm by a single species in the present study may result in a weaker protective effect for bacteria. To the best of our knowledge, there has not been any study investigating the relation between resistance to water dynamics and dominance of bacteria in ACUs, further research is still needed to consolidate this finding.
A review on synthesis and applications of versatile nanomaterials
Published in Inorganic and Nano-Metal Chemistry, 2022
G. N. Kokila, C. Mallikarjunaswamy, V. Lakshmi Ranganatha
Microorganisms can be found in different habitats like terrestrial, aquatic, atmospheric, and living hosts. Many bacteria act as pathogens that may create more medical expenses, human health issues, and affect the economy. Bacteria causes infections like strep throat, urinary tract infections, food poisoning, cellulitis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, and also causes diseases like meningitis, cholera, typhoid, leprosy, plague, anthrax, tuberculosis, tetanus in human bodies. Harmful bacteria species Enterococcus, Staphylococcus, and Streptococcus cause infections and diseases. When the bacteria are attached to any surface of devices or solid materials, numerous processes start leading to complex formation. Many layers of bacteria are formed in the glycocalyx synthesized by growing bacteria. This adhering microbial community is termed a biofilm. Bacteria are present inside the biomass; they are protected from phagocytosis and antibiotics. Therefore, it is difficult to abolish clinical treatment. Biofilms can cause mechanical blockage in fluid systems, heat transfer processes, and corrosion in metallic surfaces in industrial processes.