Preface for special issue on biofilm and c-di-GMP--Microbial society, c-di-GMP regulation, and new research techniques.

Wei Qian; Luyan MA; Lichuan GU; Lianhui Zhang

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Preface for special issue on biofilm and c-di-GMP--Microbial society, c-di-GMP regulation, and new research techniques.

Author: Wei QIAN ¹ ; Luyan MA ² ; Lichuan GU ³ ; Lianhui ZHANG ⁴
Author Information

1. State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
2. State key Laboratory of Microbial Resources, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
3. State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, Shandong, China.
4. State Key Laboratory of Conservation and Utilization of Subtropical Agro-Bioresources, Integrative Microbiology Research Centre, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, Guangdong, China.
Publication Type:Journal Article
Keywords: biofilm; c-di-GMP; new technology; regulatory mechanism
From: Chinese Journal of Biotechnology 2017;33(9):1351-1356
CountryChina
Language:Chinese
Abstract: Biofilm is prevalent in various ecological niches, in which microbial cells interconnect with each other through extracellular polymeric substances including polysaccharides, extracellular DNA, and proteins. When living in biofilms, the microbial cells employ small signalling chemicals as their "language" to communicate mutually, and exhibit remarkable differences in physiology compared to those living in planktonic state. It has been proven that the development of biofilm is subject to the regulation of c-di-GMP, an important second messenger found in prokaryotes. Given its important roles of biofilms in microbial infection, industry application, plant-microbe interactions and environmental pollustion, biofilm is one of frontier research areas in microbiology. This special issue of "Biofilm and c-di-GMP" systematically reviews the current progresses in the multiple research frontiers, including biotechnology, infectious diseases, environmental microbiology and plant pathology, with special focus on the methods and techniques in biofilm research. We hope that the issue will boost the interest of students and young scientists in this exciting area of microbiology.