Succession of bacterial communities in environmental biofilm structures

FIORELA NIEVAS, WALTER GIORDANO, PABLO BOGINO

Microbial Biofilms. Applications and Control

CRC Press

Año: 2022; p. 1 - 13

Bacterial biofilms, the main lifestyle of bacteria in nature, are composed of different bacterial species which form a complex and dynamic community. Their development is characterized by profound changes at both taxonomic and physiological level, and their biological significance lies in their impact on ecology, pathology, agriculture, production and remediation, among others. Most studies focus on their structural and physiological aspects by using simplified lab-scale models. Therefore, little is known about the establishment and succession of bacterial communities assembled as biofilm-like structures in biotic and abiotic surfaces or even in natural environments. In recent years, molecular and bioinformatics tools have provided a more in-depth look into these communities, and the taxonomic changes within them have begun to be studied in terms of succession of species (or taxa). At the ecological level, succession initially described patterns of establishment and variation of superior organisms in a given ecosystem. These principles have been adapted to conceptualize the succession of microbial communities through different models. Bacterial succession in biofilms, then, has emerged as a new and key aspect to understand their functioning. This chapter offers a review of the main advances in the field by addressing knowledge gathered from different environments.