In vitro Biofilm Formation by the Respiratory Mycoplasmosis Pathogen Mycoplasma pneumonia

Abstract

This paper reports a study of biofilm formation by the Mycoplasma pneumoniae (Mp) strain Fh on an abiotic surface using light and electron microscopy. Quantitative assessment of the effectiveness of biofilm formation was carried out in polystyrene plates with crystal-Violet cell staining. To study the ultrastructural organization of the Mp cells, scanning electron microscopy was used, which allowed a well-formed multicellular clearly defined structure of considerable size to be revealed by the third day of culturing in which Mp cells were submerged into the extracellular matrix with a clearly detectable system of pores. The morphology of the detected aggregations was absolutely identical to that of the biofilms described for other microorganisms, which confirmed that Mp had the ability to to form biofilms. The described phenomenon of the ability of Mp to grow in the form of the biofilm is of great importance both for understanding the causes of the long-term persistence of Mp in the human organism and for the development of new approaches for the treatment of protracted and chronic forms of infectious diseases caused by Mp.