Role of Phenotypic Switching in Stability and Persistence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilms

Zulfiqar A Mirani; Shaista Urooj; Fouzia Zeeshan Khan; Muhammad Naseem Khan; Mubashir Aziz; Izhar Ahmed Sheikh; Abdul Basit Khan

doi:10.5799/jmid.700505

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Research Article

J Microbiol Infect Dis. 2020; 10(1): 10-17

doi: 10.5799/jmid.700505

Role of Phenotypic Switching in Stability and Persistence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilms

Zulfiqar A Mirani, Shaista Urooj, Fouzia Zeeshan Khan, Muhammad Naseem Khan, Mubashir Aziz, Izhar Ahmed Sheikh, Abdul Basit Khan.

Cited By:3

Abstract
Objectives: Objective: This study was designed to explore the role of different phenotypes of P. aeruginosa in the development, stability and persistence of biofilm.
Methods: A total of seventeen (17) waterborne biofilm producing strains of P. aeruginosa were studied. These isolates were identified on the basis of typical phenotypic characters and the tube method was used for the study of biofilms. Population and phenotypic variance were studied by the drop plate method. The hydrophobicity of strains was evaluated by the bacterial adhesion to apolar solvent test.
Results: Study showed that the subject isolates of P. aeruginosa adopted a biofilm life style after 36 h of incubation at 35 °C. After 24 h the adhesion started, but it was reversible and easily dispersed by simple washing. However, after 36 h the irreversible adhesion was noticed. The biofilm consortia harbor three different phenotypes: i. wild types, showed typical P. aeruginosa characters on Cetrimide agar; ii. Slow growers, showed poor pigmentation and take >36 h for colony development, and iii. Small colony variants (SCVs) are metabolically inactive and producing pinpointed non pigmented colonies. Comparative analysis showed that these phenotypes i.e. SCVs were highly hydrophobic and persistent in biofilm consortia due to the production of excessive amounts of exopolysaccharides.
Conclusions: This study showed that phenotypic heterogeneity is a characteristic feature of P. aeruginosa biofilms and all of these phenotypes have a major role in stability and persistence of biofilm consortia. J Microbiol Infect Dis 2020; 10(1):10-17.

Key words: Biofilms, Hydrophobicity, P. aeruginosa, Phenotypes, SCVs

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How to Cite this Article

Pubmed Style

Mirani ZA, Urooj S, Khan FZ, Khan MN, Aziz M, Sheikh IA, Khan AB. Role of Phenotypic Switching in Stability and Persistence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilms. J Microbiol Infect Dis. 2020; 10(1): 10-17 .

doi:10.5799/jmid.700505

Web Style

Mirani ZA, Urooj S, Khan FZ, Khan MN, Aziz M, Sheikh IA, Khan AB. Role of Phenotypic Switching in Stability and Persistence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilms. https://www.jmidonline.org/?mno=302657198 [Access: June 27, 2026].

doi:10.5799/jmid.700505

AMA (American Medical Association) Style

Mirani ZA, Urooj S, Khan FZ, Khan MN, Aziz M, Sheikh IA, Khan AB. Role of Phenotypic Switching in Stability and Persistence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilms. J Microbiol Infect Dis. 2020; 10(1): 10-17 .

doi:10.5799/jmid.700505

Vancouver/ICMJE Style

Mirani ZA, Urooj S, Khan FZ, Khan MN, Aziz M, Sheikh IA, Khan AB. Role of Phenotypic Switching in Stability and Persistence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilms. J Microbiol Infect Dis. (2020), [cited June 27, 2026]; 10(1): 10-17 .

doi:10.5799/jmid.700505

Harvard Style

Mirani, Z. A., Urooj, . S., Khan, . F. Z., Khan, . M. N., Aziz, . M., Sheikh, . I. A. & Khan, . A. B. (2020) Role of Phenotypic Switching in Stability and Persistence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilms. J Microbiol Infect Dis, 10 (1), 10-17 .

doi:10.5799/jmid.700505

Turabian Style

Mirani, Zulfiqar A, Shaista Urooj, Fouzia Zeeshan Khan, Muhammad Naseem Khan, Mubashir Aziz, Izhar Ahmed Sheikh, and Abdul Basit Khan. 2020. Role of Phenotypic Switching in Stability and Persistence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilms. Journal of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, 10 (1), 10-17 .

doi:10.5799/jmid.700505

Chicago Style

Mirani, Zulfiqar A, Shaista Urooj, Fouzia Zeeshan Khan, Muhammad Naseem Khan, Mubashir Aziz, Izhar Ahmed Sheikh, and Abdul Basit Khan. "Role of Phenotypic Switching in Stability and Persistence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilms." Journal of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases 10 (2020), 10-17 .

doi:10.5799/jmid.700505

MLA (The Modern Language Association) Style

doi:10.5799/jmid.700505

APA (American Psychological Association) Style

doi:10.5799/jmid.700505

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