ORIGINAL RESEARCH published: 23 June 2021 doi: 10.3389/fmed.2021.667462 Urethral Catheter Biofilms Reveal Plasticity in Bacterial Composition Edited by: Xiaoyun Liu, and Metabolism and Withstand Host Peking University, China Reviewed by: Immune Defenses in Hypoxic Ruibing Chen, Tianjin University, China Environment Xu Zhang, University of Ottawa, Canada Yanbao Yu 1†, Harinder Singh 1†, Tamara Tsitrin 1, Shiferaw Bekele 1‡, Yi-Han Lin 1, *Correspondence: Patricia Sikorski 1‡, Kelvin J. Moncera 2‡, Manolito G. Torralba 2, Lisa Morrow 3, Rembert Pieper Randall Wolcott 3, Karen E. Nelson 1,2 and Rembert Pieper 1*‡
[email protected] 1 J. Craig Venter Institute, Rockville, MD, United States, 2 J. Craig Venter Institute, La Jolla, CA, United States, 3 Southwest † These authors have contributed Regional Wound Care Center, Lubbock, TX, United States equally to this work ‡Present address: Shiferaw Bekele, Biofilms composed of multiple microorganisms colonize the surfaces of indwelling University of Maryland Medical Center, urethral catheters that are used serially by neurogenic bladder patients and cause Baltimore, MD, United States chronic infections. Well-adapted pathogens in this niche are Escherichia coli, Proteus, Patricia Sikorski, Department of Neurology, George and Enterococcus spp., species that cycle through adhesion and multilayered cell Washington University, Washington, growth, trigger host immune responses, are starved off nutrients, and then disperse. DC, United States Kelvin J. Moncera, Viable microbial foci retained in the urinary tract recolonize catheter surfaces. The Western University of Health molecular adaptations of bacteria in catheter biofilms (CBs) are not well-understood, Sciences, College of Osteopathic promising new insights into this pathology based on host and microbial meta-omics Medicine of the Pacific, Pomona, CA, United States analyses from clinical specimens.