TITLE:
Disruption of Mycobacterium smegmatis Biofilms Using Bacteriophages Alone or in Combination with Mechanical Stress
AUTHORS:
Brendan Kiefer, John L. Dahl
KEYWORDS:
Mycobacterium smegmatis, Biofilm, Mycobacteriophage, Bacteriophage
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Microbiology,
Vol.5 No.10,
September
25,
2015
ABSTRACT: Environmental mycobacteria are capable
of forming biofilms in low-nutrient environments, and these biofilms may act as
reservoirs for opportunistic infections. The purpose of this study was to
determine if bacteriophages could disrupt existing biofilms of acid-fast
staining Mycobacterium smegmatis. Using the MBEC 96-well plastic peg assay system, M. smegmatis biofilms were created and then tested for their stability in the
presence of mycobacteriophages isolated from a Minnesota
sphagnum peat bog. All phages tested were lytic
and were observed to have weak, intermediate, and strong abilities to disrupt M. smegmatis biofilms. The formation of
biofilms was severely impaired in the presence of mycobacteriophages. Phage
treatment was also shown to augmentM. smegmatis biofilm disruption by mechanical
forces of sonication or water flow. Our study shows that, as with biofilms of
Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, mycobacterial biofilms are also
susceptible to destruction by bacteriophages.