Biofilm – organisation of bacteria life in natural eco systems

In all natural ecosystems, including both humans and animals, bacteria show a tendency to bind on the surface and form a structure known as biofilm. Biofilm formation is a genetically regulated process in the life of bacteria and has several phases demanding intercellular communication. In biofilms bacteria express different characteristics comparing to their free suspended counterparts, due to different gene transcription profile and increased resistance towards antibiotics and disinfectants. Discovery of microbial biofilms has changed our understanding of bacteria, that are not viewed only as unicellular organisms, but more as a multi-cellular community that in some characteristics imitates primitive eukaryotic tissue. In the last decades there is an increasing evidence on infections caused by bacteria that form biofilms, and have a chronic course with possibility of recidives. Conventional methods of killing microbes by antibiotics and biocides is usually ineffective in bacteria organized in biofilms.