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Review
. 2021 May 15:196:117037.
doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2021.117037. Epub 2021 Mar 10.

Bacterial coaggregation in aquatic systems

Ana C Afonso  1 , Inês B Gomes  1 , Maria José Saavedra  2 , Efstathios Giaouris  3 , Lúcia C Simões  4 , Manuel Simões  5
Affiliations
Review

Bacterial coaggregation in aquatic systems

Ana C Afonso et al. Water Res. .

Abstract

The establishment of a sessile community is believed to occur in a sequence of steps where genetically distinct bacteria can become attached to partner cells via specific molecules, in a process known as coaggregation. The presence of bacteria with the ability to autoaggregate and coaggregate has been described for diverse aquatic systems, particularly freshwater, drinking water, wastewater, and marine water. In these aquatic systems, coaggregation already demonstrated a role in the development of complex multispecies sessile communities, including biofilms. While specific molecular aspects on coaggregation in aquatic systems remain to be understood, clear evidence exist on the impact of this mechanism in multispecies biofilm resilience and homeostasis. The identification of bridging bacteria among coaggregating consortia has potential to improve the performance of wastewater treatment plants and/or to contribute for the development of strategies to control undesirable biofilms. This study provides a comprehensive analysis on the occurrence and role of bacterial coaggregation in diverse aquatic systems. The potential of this mechanism in water-related biotechnology is further described, with particular emphasis on the role of bridging bacteria.

Keywords: Aquatic environments; Biofilms; Bridging organisms; Cell-to-cell adhesion; Interspecies coaggregation; Multispecies biofilms.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Competing Interest Authors declare no conflict of interests.

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