Multispecies Biofilm Dynamics and Interactions

Multispecies biofilms are structured microbial communities in which diverse bacterial, fungal or archaeal species adhere to surfaces and secrete a shared matrix. Within these assemblages, intimate spatial arrangements and chemical signalling foster cooperative behaviours such as nutrient cross-feeding, while also enabling competitive or antagonistic interactions that shape community composition. The extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) matrix not only provides mechanical stability but also modulates diffusion of substrates, wastes and antimicrobial agents. Dynamic shifts in species abundance and architecture are driven by environmental cues, quorum sensing pathways and differential gene expression. Such complexity gives rise to emergent properties, including enhanced tolerance to stress, optimisation of metabolic networks and the emergence of keystone species whose presence disproportionately influences community function. Understanding the interplay of mutualism, commensalism and competition within multispecies biofilms has broad implications, from improving plant-growth promotion in agriculture and optimising wastewater treatment to devising novel strategies for controlling chronic human infections and biofouling in industrial settings.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Foundational meta-proteomics analyses of a model four-species soil consortium have revealed how cooperative cross-feeding on specific amino acids and opposite regulation of fermentation and nitrogen pathways underpin community development. By comparing protein abundances in single-species versus mixed biofilms, researchers uncovered that interspecies interactions drive shifts in active metabolic pathways, while a bespoke pipeline for reduced reference proteomes enables accurate taxonomic resolution in complex samples. These insights demonstrate that both cooperation and resource competition are central to multispecies biofilm assembly and function.

Multispecies Biofilm Dynamics and Interactions publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in multispecies biofilm dynamics and interactions across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Biofilm: Surface-attached microbial community embedded in a self-produced matrix.

Extracellular polymeric substance (EPS): Complex mixture of polysaccharides, proteins and nucleic acids that forms the biofilm matrix.

Keystone species: Member whose influence on community structure and function is disproportionately large relative to its abundance.

Co-aggregation: Process by which distinct microbial cells adhere to each other, forming mixed-species aggregates.

Meta-proteomics: Large-scale characterisation of all proteins expressed by a complex microbial community.

Spatial organisation: Three-dimensional arrangement of different species and matrix components within a biofilm.

References

1. A meta-proteomics approach to study the interspecies interactions affecting microbial biofilm development in a model community. Scientific Reports (2017).
2. Interspecific interactions facilitate keystone species in a multispecies biofilm that promotes plant growth. The ISME Journal: Multidisciplinary Journal of Microbial Ecology (2024).
3. Decoding the impact of interspecies interactions on biofilm matrix components. Biofilm (2025).
4. Mechanisms of microbial co-aggregation in mixed anaerobic cultures. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology (2024).