Phenotypic and genotypic characterization of biofilm formation in clinical Escherichia Coli isolates from Norwegian hospitals.

Abstract

Biofilm is an extracellular matrix that allows bacteria to attach themselves to surfaces and to each other. Biofilm formation among E. coli causes diseases, and the majority of urinary tract infections (UTI) are caused by biofilm producing E. coli. The biofilm layer among E. coli also play a role in bloodstream infections (BSI). Biofilms adhere to surfaces as indwelling medical devices and increase the risk of BSI and UTIs.

We investigated the genetic and phenotypic characteristic of 138 clinical E. coli pathogenic and commensal isolates, and associated these traits with biofilm-related factors such as biomass abundance, curli and cellulose expression, pellicle formation. So in short, we did this to investigate association for biofilm traits with phenotypes and genotypes. We investigated the biomass abundance quantitatively, and qualitatively for presence of curli, cellulose, and pellicles. This project was performed in Tromsø at UiT The Arctic University of Norway with the research group Microbial Pharmacology & Population Biology. Our findings indicated that the composition of the biofilm matrix, such as curli and biofilm-associated genes/operons, may be influenced by the genetic lineage of the clinical E. isolates, specifically their sequence types. ST73 and ST95 isolates exhibited the highest biofilm capabilities.