Planktonic Growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa around a Dual-Species Biofilm Supports the Growth of Fusobacterium nucleatum within That Biofilm

Figure 7

Growth of F. nucleatum within the P. aeruginosa/F. nucleatum biofilm depends on the environment around the biofilm. PAO1 and VPI 4355 were inoculated into two sets of tubes of BHI broth containing cellulose disks as described in Figure 2 and incubated aerobically for 24 h at 37°C. (a) Disks were removed from one set of tubes, placed on the surface of BHI agar plates, and incubated aerobically for 48 h at 37°C. At intervals indicated on the graph, the disks were removed from the plates and the number of CFU/disk was determined. (b) Disks from the second set of tubes were transferred to fresh tubes of BHI broth and incubated aerobically for 48 h at 37°C. At intervals indicated on the graph, the disks were removed from the broth and the number of CFU/disk was determined. Values in (a) and (b) represent the means of three independent experiments ± SEM; ; ; ; ; ns, no significant change.

(a)

(b)