(Optochemical) Control of Synthetic Microbial Coculture Interactions on a Microcolony Level.

Synthetic microbial cocultures carry enormous potential for applied biotechnology and are increasingly the subject of fundamental research. So far, most cocultures have been designed and characterized based on bulk cultivations without considering the potentially highly heterogeneous and diverse single-cell behavior. However, an in-depth understanding of cocultures including their interacting single cells is indispensable for the development of novel cultivation approaches and control of cocultures. We present the development, validation, and experimental characterization of an optochemically controllable bacterial coculture on a microcolony level consisting of two Corynebacterium glutamicum strains. Our coculture combines an l-lysine auxotrophic strain together with a l-lysine-producing variant carrying the genetically IPTG-mediated induction of l-lysine production. We implemented two control approaches utilizing IPTG as inducer molecule. First, unmodified IPTG was supplemented to the culture enabling a medium-based control of the production of l-lysine, which serves as the main interacting component. Second, optochemical control was successfully performed by utilizing photocaged IPTG activated by appropriate illumination. Both control strategies were validated studying cellular growth on a microcolony level. The novel microfluidic single-cell cultivation strategies applied in this work can serve as a blueprint to validate cellular control strategies of synthetic mono- and cocultures with single-cell resolution at defined environmental conditions.

Fluorescence change of Fusobacterium nucleatum due to Porphyromonas gingivalis.

The aim of this study was to measure changes in the fluorescence of Fusobacterium nucleatum interacting with Porphyromonas gingivalis for excitation with blue light at 405-nm. P. gingivalis was mono- and co-cultivated in close proximity with F. nucleatum. The fluorescence of the bacterial colonies was photographed using a QLF-D (Quantitative Light-induced Fluorescence-Digital) Biluminator camera system with a 405 nm light source and a specific filter. The red, green and blue intensities of fluorescence images were analyzed using the image analysis software. A fluorescence spectrometer was used to detect porphyrin synthesized by each bacterium. F. nucleatum, which emitted green fluorescence in single cultures, showed intense red fluorescence when it was grown in close proximity with P. gingivalis. F. nucleatum co-cultivated with P. gingivalis showed the same pattern of fluorescence peaks as for protoporphyrin IX in the red part of the spectrum. We conclude that the green fluorescence of F. nucleatum can change to red fluorescence in the presence of adjacent co-cultured with P. gingivalis, indicating that the fluorescence character of each bacterium might depend on the presence of other bacteria.

Rising nutrient-pulse frequency and high UVR strengthen microbial interactions.

Solar radiation and nutrient pulses regulate the ecosystem's functioning. However, little is known about how a greater frequency of pulsed nutrients under high ultraviolet radiation (UVR) levels, as expected in the near future, could alter the responses and interaction between primary producers and decomposers. In this report, we demonstrate through a mesocosm study in lake La Caldera (Spain) that a repeated (press) compared to a one-time (pulse) schedule under UVR prompted higher increases in primary (PP) than in bacterial production (BP) coupled with a replacement of photoautotrophs by mixotrophic nanoflagellates (MNFs). The mechanism underlying these amplified phytoplanktonic responses was a dual control by MNFs on bacteria through the excretion of organic carbon and an increased top-down control by bacterivory. We also show across a 6-year whole-lake study that the changes from photoautotrophs to MNFs were related mainly to the frequency of pulsed nutrients (e.g. desert dust inputs). Our results underscore how an improved understanding of the interaction between chronic and stochastic environmental factors is critical for predicting ongoing changes in ecosystem functioning and its responses to climatically driven changes.

[Resistance of microorganisms of coastal ecosystems of the Dead Sea to extremal factors].

Such extreme factors as UV radiation, high temperature and salinity, and also the small amount of accessible water have an influence on microorganisms of coastal ecosystems of the Dead Sea. Resistance to these factors of the microorganisms isolated from ecosystems of this region (vertical steep gorge around the Dead Sea, clay-salt plain and black highly mineralized muds) is studied. Aerobic, chemoorganotrophic, thermotolerant, moderately halophilic bacteria which, according to their morphological and physiological properties, are similar to species Gracilibacillus halotolerans, Salimicrobium album and genus Caryophanon have been isolated from these ecosystems. All strains grew at 0-10% of NaCl in the medium (one strain--at 15% of NaCl), in the range of 30-50 degrees C. Resistance to UV radiation has been revealed in all the investigated bacteria Lethal doses of UV (LD90 and LD99.99) for spore-forming strains of genus Gracilibacillus were 100-170 and 1100-1500 J/m2, respectively; for strain Salimicrobium 6t1 (does not form spores)--70 and 400 J/m2; for the strain lt4 (genus Caryophanon), forming filamentous (or trychomes)--150 and 1400 J/m2. Some strains of genus Gracilibacillus had strong antagonistic effect on conditionally pathogenic test cultures Staphylococcus aureus 209p and Candida albicans UCM Y-690. It is conceivable that resistance of microorganisms of coastal ecosystems of the Dead Sea to extreme factors was generated under the influence of abiotic (physical and chemical) factors typical of this region.

In Vitro effect of low-level laser therapy on typical oral microbial biofilms.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of specific parameters of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) on biofilms formed by Streptococcus mutans, Candida albicans or an association of both species. Single and dual-species biofilms--SSB and DSB--were exposed to laser doses of 5, 10 or 20 J/cm(2) from a near infrared InGaAsP diode laser prototype (LASERTable; 780 ± 3 nm, 0.04 W). After irradiation, the analysis of biobilm viability (MTT assay), biofilm growth (cfu/mL) and cell morphology (SEM) showed that LLLT reduced cell viability as well as the growth of biofilms. The response of S. mutans (SSB) to irradiation was similar for all laser doses and the biofilm growth was dose dependent. However, when associated with C. albicans (DSB), S. mutans was resistant to LLLT. For C. albicans, the association with S. mutans (DSB) caused a significant decrease in biofilm growth in a dose-dependent fashion. The morphology of the microorganisms in the SSB was not altered by LLLT, while the association of microbial species (DSB) promoted a reduction in the formation of C. albicans hyphae. LLLT had an inhibitory effect on the microorganisms, and this capacity can be altered according to the interactions between different microbial species.

In Vitro effect of low-level laser therapy on typical oral microbial biofilms

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of specific parameters of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) on biofilms formed by Streptococcus mutans, Candida albicans or an association of both species. Single and dual-species biofilms - SSB and DSB - were exposed to laser doses of 5, 10 or 20 J/cm2 from a near infrared InGaAsP diode laser prototype (LASERTable; 780 ± 3 nm, 0.04 W). After irradiation, the analysis of biobilm viability (MTT assay), biofilm growth (cfu/mL) and cell morphology (SEM) showed that LLLT reduced cell viability as well as the growth of biofilms. The response of S. mutans (SSB) to irradiation was similar for all laser doses and the biofilm growth was dose dependent. However, when associated with C. albicans (DSB), S. mutans was resistant to LLLT. For C. albicans, the association with S. mutans (DSB) caused a significant decrease in biofilm growth in a dose-dependent fashion. The morphology of the microorganisms in the SSB was not altered by LLLT, while the association of microbial species (DSB) promoted a reduction in the formation of C. albicans hyphae. LLLT had an inhibitory effect on the microorganisms, and this capacity can be altered according to the interactions between different microbial species.

O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar o efeito de parâmetros específicos de irradiação com laser de baixa intensidade sobre biofilmes formados por Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans), Candida albicans (C. albicans) ou associação de ambas as espécies. Biofilmes isolados ou associados destes microrganismos foram irradiados com um dispositivo laser infra-vermelho próximo de diodos InGaAsP (LaserTABLE 780 ±3 nm, 0,04W), utilizando-se para isto o dispositivo LASERTable. Quinze horas após a irradiação, foi demonstrado, por meio da avaliação da viabilidade celular (Teste de MTT), da morfologia das células (MEV) e do crescimento do biofilme (UFC/mL), que esta terapia foi capaz de reduzir o metabolismo celular, número de microrganismos presentes no biofilme, bem como seu crescimento no local. Quanto à viabilidade celular, a resposta à irradiação do biofilme de S. mutans (SSB) foi semelhante para todas as doses de energia, sendo que o crescimento do biofilme foi dose dependente. Porém, quando associado à C. albicans, este microrganismo apresentou resistência à fototerapia. Já a C. albicans associada ao S. mutans apresentou redução de crescimento significativa, sendo este resultado também foi dose dependente. A morfologia dos microrganismos não foi alterada pelas irradiações realizadas quando em biofilmes isolados. A associação entre os microrganismos promoveu redução na formação de hifas pela C. albicans. A laserterapia de baixa intensidade apresentou efeito inibitório sobre microrganismos, sendo que esta capacidade pode ser alterada de acordo com a interação entre diferentes microrganismos.