Transcriptome of floating aggregate biofilms in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a critical priority pathogen, whose proclivity to establish chronic infections and to resist antibiotic treatment is intimately linked to its ability to form biofilms at the infection site. Recent developments in our understanding of these biofilms has pointed to the fact that the surface-bound biofilms recapitulated by in vitro models do not sufficiently capture the type of biofilms that occur in infection sites, such as the CF lung. This study aimed to develop a straightforward and medium throughput model for free floating biofilms, alongside a protocol that permits fractionating of the biofilm into its constituent parts. The RNA-seq investigation takes the cells fraction at three timepoints in biofilm development (and one point in a planktonic culture for comparison), to ask what genes are driving the development of these free floating aggregate biofilms. Overall design: RNA-seq profiling of PAO1 cells at three biofilm timepoints (24, 48 and 72 h) as well as 5 h in planktonic culture.