PNNL

Abstract

It is common for bacteria to produce extracellular enzymes having some form of degradative activity. In some cases these enzymes serve to protect cells from antagonistic substances, or to convert a large and/or insoluble biopolymer to an assimilable nutrient source. In some cases the physiological benefit to the bacterium is not entirely evident. Extracellular enzymes may be membrane bound, but in many cases they are released into the surrounding medium. It has been shown that these relatively large molecules become immobilized in the extracellular polymeric matrix in which cells in flocs and biofilms are embedded. Most proteins adsorb irreversibly to substrata having a variety of surface chemistries, and transport by convection is reduced near any solid surface, regardless of the flow regimen in the bulk liquid. Thus, extracellular enzymes have a tendency to become an integral and significant component of the biofilm/substratum microenvironment, influencing cell physiology and biofilm ecology.