Chemical interactions between Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans within mixed species biofilms

Chemical interactions between Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans within mixed species biofilms

Biofilms are communities of microbes that grow and function together in order to gain protection from environmental stressors. Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans are two of the most common microbes found to grow as biofilms within medical facilities and are among the leading causes of infectious disease. Previous studies found that S. aureus and C. albicans grow together synergistically within biofilms and that S. aureus actually secretes some chemical that drastically improves candidal biofilm growth. The current project is focused on better characterizing the mechanism of this chemical interaction. One aspect of the project examines when S. aureus secretes this stimulatory chemical during its growth cycle and whether release is restricted only to S. aureus growing as a biofilm. Future experiments will try to isolate and characterize the exact chemical that is responsible for this growth. As of now, the chemical is believed to be related in function to quorum sensing molecules (e.g. tyrosol, farnesol) normally made by C. albicans during the control its own growth.