Microbial Biofilms in Ophthalmology and Infectious Disease

Microbial Biofilms

Microbial pathogenesis: mechanisms of infectious disease.

The FASEB Summer Research Conference on Microbial Pathogenesis: Mechanisms of Infectious Disease was held in Colorado, USA in July 2007. The central theme was the interplay between pathogenic microbes and their mammalian hosts. Here, we review the presented research that highlights this theme, including studies of both short-term and long-term interactions between microbes and their hosts.

INFECTIOUS DISEASE: Digging into Seaside Microbial Exposures

One of the gaping holes in the public health tool kit is the lack of comprehensive knowledge about the occurrence and toxic effects of the full spectrum of chemicals emitted by industrial facilities. The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) has taken a small step toward filling this void by assembling selected basic toxics data for North America with the 10 June 2009 release of its 12...

Gene transfer in microbial biofilms

Quantification and prediction of gene transfer in natural environments is required for reliable assessment of risks associated with the transfer of recombinant DNA in genetically engineered microbial inocula, and for a greater understanding of the mechanisms controlling transfer of genetic material. Published models of gene transfer describe plasmid transfer in homogeneous, liquid culture syste...

Microbial Biofilms and Chronic Wounds

Background is provided on biofilms, including their formation, tolerance mechanisms, structure, and morphology within the context of chronic wounds. The features of biofilms in chronic wounds are discussed in detail, as is the impact of biofilm on wound chronicity. Difficulties associated with the use of standard susceptibility tests (minimum inhibitory concentrations or MICs) to determine appr...