Engineering Commons^™

Did Mineral Surface Chemistry And Toxicity Contribute To Evolution Of Microbial Extracellular Polymeric Substances?, Jie Xu, Jay M. Campbell, Nianli Zhang, William J. Hickey, Nita Sahai

Nita Sahai

Modern ecological niches are teeming with an astonishing diversity of microbial life in biofilms closely associated with mineral surfaces, which highlights the remarkable success of microorganisms in conquering the challenges and capitalizing on the benefits presented by the mineral-water interface. Biofilm formation capability likely evolved on early Earth because biofilms provide crucial cell survival functions. The potential toxicity of mineral surfaces toward cells and the complexities of the mineral-water-cell interface in determining the toxicity mechanisms, however, have not been fully appreciated. Here, we report a previously unrecognized role for extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), which form biofilms in shielding cells against …