7. Prokaryotic Cell Structures & Functions
Introduction to Biofilms
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concept
Introduction to Biofilms
3m
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in this video, we're going to begin our introduction to biofilms. And so biofilms can be defined as a group of cells that are encased in a slime like policy Sacco ride layer adhered to a surface. And so these biofilms are really just communities or groups of microbes that live together encased in this line like polly sack ride. And so these biofilms can be found on virtually any surface and they can cause serious illness in many cases. And these biofilms are encased by a policy Ackroyd matrix of extra cellular pollen eric substances or E. P. S. For short. And so these extra cellular pollen merrick substances or E. P. S. Are really just a sticky matrix of polymers. And these polymers can vary a lot, but these polymers will be secreted by cells supporting the biofilm structure. And once again these polymer types can vary. And so they include policy Sacco rides proteins, glycoprotein, Zlenko lipids and lipids. And all of these complex diverse molecules are going to be secreted to create this extra cellular pollen eric substance. And once again that is what is going to encase the biofilm. And so the biofilm is a community of microbes that is surrounded by an extra pollen eric substance. And so if we take a look at this image down below, which will notice is that this is an image of a biofilm. And so the biofilm is really just referring to the community of microbes that are living together within uh this gel like substance, this extra pollen eric substance and the extra pol America substance is really just the gray border and gray background that you see. And so that extra pol american substances what encases the biofilm. This community of microbes that live together. And so here you can see zooming into the extra pollen merrick substance or the E. P. S. It consists of a bunch of different types of polymers. Once again they could include policy Sacco rides proteins, glycoprotein, Zlenko lipids and lipids. And so you can see that bacteria and archaea can all survive within these biofilms. And uh they are of great importance because they can cause serious illnesses. And so the biofilms can help to protect the community of microbes and so therefore it can help these microbes cause illnesses. And so it's a great importance to humans to study biofilms so they can learn how to counteract them and prevent illnesses and things of that nature. And so this here concludes our brief introduction to biofilms. These groups of cells or communities of microbes that live together within this slime like a P. S. Extra pollen eric substance. And so we'll be able to get some practice applying these concepts as we move forward. So I'll see you all in our next video
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Problem
Problem______________ are complex communities of various types of microbes that adhere to surfaces.
A
Biofilms
B
Aggregates
C
Colonies
D
Cell morphologies
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Problem
ProblemBiofilms can contain which of the following:
A
Bacterial cells
B
Proteins
C
Archaeal cells
D
Polysaccharides
E
All of the choices are correct