Exogenous Protein as an Environmental Stimuli of Biofilm Formation in Select Bacterial Strains

ABSTRACT A screening of environmental conditions that would elicit robust biofilm in a collection of Serratia marcescens isolated from soil revealed that exogenous milk protein increased biofilm productivity up to ten-fold. A select screening of fish pathogens, freshwater and human isolates identified several other species that responded similarly to exogenous protein. The optimal protein concentration was species specific; S. marcescens at 5% milk protein, Aeromonas sp. at 2-3%, Flavobacterium columnare at 1% and Pseudomonas aeruginosa at 0.1-0.4%. Media supplemented with milk protein also increased the cell counts in biofilm as well as the protein incorporated into the biofilm matrix. These data suggest that relatively high concentrations of exogenous protein may serve as an environmental trigger for biofilm formation, particularly for pathogenic bacteria exposed to relatively high concentrations of protein in bodily fluids and mucosal surfaces.