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MICROBIAL LANDSCAPES - BIOFILMS Biofilms are populations or communities of microorganisms adhering to environmental surfaces. Biofilms can be found in many areas of the human body and the environment including teeth, intestines, medical devices, contact lenses, rocks in streams, drainage pipes, and the bottoms of ships. These microorganisms are usually encased in an extracellular polysaccharide (slime) that members of the consortium synthesize. SEM is commonly used to examine the structure of microbial biofilms in nature and medicine. The images included here range from a pure culture of bacteria to a highly diverse consortium of microbial species.
Check
out http://www.erc.montana.edu/default.htm
for more information on biofilms. © 2003 Wartburg College Biology Department |
