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

Figure 4

P. aeruginosa supports the growth of F. nucleatum in both planktonic and biofilm settings under aerobic conditions. Tubes containing 5 mL of BHI broth and a cellulose disk were inoculated with ~10⁶ CFU of P. aeruginosa and 10² CFU of F. nucleatum and incubated aerobically at 37°C for time indicated on graph. (a) The disks were removed and rinsed to remove planktonic bacteria, and the numbers of CFU in the biofilm (CFU/disk) were determined. (b) The numbers of planktonic bacteria (CFU/mL) were also determined. Values in (a) and (b) represent the means of three independent experiments ± SEM; ; ; ns, no significant change.

(a)

(b)