Intergeneric coaggregation among drinking water bacteria: evidence of a role for Acinetobacter calcoaceticus as a bridging bacterium

Appl Environ Microbiol. 2008 Feb;74(4):1259-63. doi: 10.1128/AEM.01747-07. Epub 2007 Dec 21.

Abstract

Intergeneric coaggregation of drinking water bacteria was tested. Acinetobacter calcoaceticus was found not only to autoaggregate but also to coaggregate with four of the five other isolates (Burkholderia cepacia, Methylobacterium sp., Mycobacterium mucogenicum, Sphingomonas capsulata, and Staphylococcus sp.). In its absence, no coaggregation was found. Interactions were lectin-saccharide mediated. The putative bridging function of A. calcoaceticus was evidenced by multispecies biofilm studies, through a strain exclusion process.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Acinetobacter calcoaceticus / genetics
  • Acinetobacter calcoaceticus / physiology*
  • Biofilms / growth & development*
  • Microscopy, Fluorescence
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / genetics
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA
  • Species Specificity
  • Water Microbiology*
  • Water Supply*

Substances

  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S