Stress-Induced Dispersal of Staphylococcus epidermidis Biofilm Is Due to Compositional Changes in Its Biofilm Matrix

Charlène Coulon, Irina Sadovskaya, Philippe Lencel, Saïd Jabbouri, Jeffrey B. Kaplan, Sigrid Flahaut

Department of Oral Biology, New Jersey Dental School, Newark, USA.
Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Maadi, Egypt.
Service de Microbiologie Appliquée, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), c/o Institut de Recherches Microbiologiques Jean-Marie Wiame (IRMW), Bruxelles, Belgium.
UMT, Université du Littoral-C?te d’Opale, Boulogne-Sur-Mer, France.

DOI: 10.4236/aim.2012.24066                

Abstract

Biofilm formation is an important virulence factor of Staphylococcus epidermidis. However, little is known about the mechanisms of staphylococcal biofilm dispersal. In the present study, we investigated biofilm dispersal of the model biofilm-forming strain S. epidermidis RP62A under oligotrophic stress conditions. We found that oligotrophic stress led to rapid dispersal of pre-formed biofilms and concomitant changes in the composition of the extracellular matrix, including a decrease in poly-N-acetylglucosamine polysaccharide and an increase in proteins. Our results suggest that modifications in biofilm integrity caused by compositional changes in the biofilm matrix can induce biofilm dispersal.

Keywords

Staphylococcus epidermidis; Biofilm Composition; Detachment; Nutrient Limitation

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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