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Gao, H. Microbial Biofilm. Encyclopedia. Available online: https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/60570 (accessed on 05 October 2026).
Gao H. Microbial Biofilm. Encyclopedia. Available at: https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/60570. Accessed October 05, 2026.
Gao, Huanli. "Microbial Biofilm" Encyclopedia, https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/60570 (accessed October 05, 2026).
Gao, H. (2026, September 28). Microbial Biofilm. In Encyclopedia. https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/60570
Gao, Huanli. "Microbial Biofilm." Encyclopedia. Web. 28 September, 2026.
Microbial Biofilm
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A microbial biofilm is a structured, spatially organized community of microorganisms—most commonly bacteria in the present taxonomic context—whose cells are associated with one another and with an interface or aggregate state, and are embedded within a self-produced extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) matrix [1][2]. The matrix is a dynamic, hydrated assemblage of extracellular polysaccharides, proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, and other retained biomolecules that establishes the biofilm’s three-dimensional architecture and local physicochemical environment [2][3]. Biofilm cells exhibit a collective, sessile or aggregate-associated mode of growth that differs from the freely suspended, planktonic state; this distinction is defined by organization within the matrix rather than by mere proximity of cells to a surface [1,4]. Biofilms may comprise a single bacterial species or multiple microbial species. Cell–cell signaling mechanisms, including quorum sensing, can regulate matrix production and community behaviors in some biofilms, but quorum sensing is neither universally present nor a defining component of the biofilm state [3][4].

biofilm matrix extracellular polymeric substances bacterial community planktonic cells

References

  1. Muzamil Ahmad Rather; Kuldeep Gupta; Manabendra Mandal; Microbial biofilm: formation, architecture, antibiotic resistance, and control strategies. Braz. J. Microbiol. 2021, 52, 1701-1718. [CrossRef]
  2. Rodney M. Donlan; Biofilms: Microbial Life on Surfaces. Emerg. Infect. Dis. 2002, 8, 881-890. [CrossRef]
  3. Hans-Curt Flemming; Jost Wingender; Ulrich Szewzyk; Peter Steinberg; Scott A. Rice; Staffan Kjelleberg; Biofilms: an emergent form of bacterial life. Nat. Rev. Microbiol. 2016, 14, 563-575. [CrossRef]
  4. Hans-Curt Flemming; Thomas R. Neu; Daniel J. Wozniak; The EPS Matrix: The “House of Biofilm Cells”. J. Bacteriol. 2007, 189, 7945-7947. [CrossRef]
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Subjects: Microbiology
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