As in other C. albicans biofilm studies [11, 30–33], our inoculum was produced at 30°C in order to obtain a well defined dispersed population consisting QNZ purchase entirely of yeast singlets and doublets, with no cell aggregates. This relatively large inoculum settles to the lower surface of the tubing during the 1 h incubation period. These cells, which still have the yeast morphology after the 1 h incubation period, are completely removed if

the tubing is drained, leaving the lower tubing surface completely free of cells (data not shown). Contrary to our initial expectation, when medium flow is initiated, most cells remain associated with the surface. We found less than 105 cells/ml in aliquots collected immediately after initiation of flow until just before loss of the entire biofilm (five experiments). Cells that remain associated with the surface

germinate and the biomass increases primarily by hyphal extension rather than increase in cell number (Figure 2c). (A batch culture in which the conditions of the inoculation are the same behaves similarly in Selleck Compound C this respect). Biofilms grown for 1 h have developed a multilayer, multicellular structure that remains associated with the tubing after it is subjected to the large shear forces exerted at the interface by draining the tubing (Figs 2d and 2e), indicating that

as cells germinate they rapidly develop relatively strong cell to cell (cohesive) and cell to Proteasome inhibitor surface (adhesive) bonds. The relatively strong adhesive association with the surface that is established by 1 h is weakened considerably before visible regions of the biofilm lift off the tubing and this is accompanied by a change in biofilm morphology. The early time course of this loss of adhesion was followed using cryosectioning, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and time lapse GW4869 cost photography (Figure 3). Cryosections of the biofilm indicated that there was a fairly abrupt transition in the structural organization of regions of the biofilm (particularly regions near the biofilm lateral edges) consisting of the appearance of hyphae extending into the surrounding medium between 60 and 90 min (Figure 3a).