Review article
Microbial Communities and Biofilms
Lejla Duraković
; Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Zijad Duraković
; Institute for Anthropological Research, Department of Medical Anthropology, Zagreb, Croatia
Mihaela Blažinkov
; Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Marijan Bošnjak
; Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Sanja Sikora
; Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Frane Delaš
; Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Ksenija Markov
; Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Andrea Skelin
; Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Domagoj Čvek
; Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
Until the 1960s many aspects of environmental microbiology were dealt with on an observational basis. Certainly there was a good measure of understanding of economically important phenomena, such as the symbiotic relationship between Rhizobium and leguminous plants, while there was a basic understanding of the relationship between microbial growth and physical parameters, such as temperature and of the various types of interaction between different microorganisms in the same environment. Overall, however, many observations remained poorly explained and, to many microbiologists, it appeared that the various paradigms used to explain and interpret the behaviour of microorganisms in natural environments were defi cient. Over the past two decades, the situation has changed and while, happily for environmental microbiologists, much remains less than fully understood, there now exists a framework of knowledge which has greatly expanded the understanding of the relationship
between microorganisms and their environments. Two examples are an understanding of biofi lm formation and its environmental importance and of the survival strategies of non-endospore forming microorganisms.
Keywords
microbial communities; heterogenous populations; biofilms; physical stress; food industry
Hrčak ID:
49972
URI
Publication date:
30.12.2009.
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