表面と微生物の関わり

抄録

Many microbes are in an attached state in natural environments and they play important roles as agents of geochemical change at a global scale. A systematic way to sort out these microbes based on their growth rates is introduced. Then, the relation between solid surfaces and microbes has been reviewed as follows. The surface characteristics, such as “surface charge” and “hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity” of microbial cells, are explained by referring to the results obtained for the microbes isolated from soil environments. It is also shown that there is a polymer layer at the cell surface, which makes the mechanism of cell attachment totally different from that proposed based on the conventional theories. The biofilm, a sort of city for microbes, is also introduced as an important habitat to survive in harsh natural environments.