Effect of biofilm formation by Pseudoalteromonas spongiae on induction of larval settlement of the polychaete Hydroides elegans.

The effects of culture conditions and chloramphenicol treatment on the induction of the marine bacterium Pseudoalteromonas spongiae to larval settlement of Hydroides elegans were investigated. The results showed that P. spongiae cells grown in the medium containing both yeast extract and peptone (YP-grown P. spongiae) was highly inductive to larval settlement, whereas P. spongiae cells grown in the medium containing only peptone (P-grown P. spongiae) or YP-grown P. spongiae cells treated with chloramphenicol at the onset of biofilm development (YPC-grown P. spongiae) did not induce larval settlement. Analysis of biofilm formation, biofilm structure, and the surface protein profile indicated that only the induction-capable YP-grown P. spongiae formed a well-developed biofilm, while the P-grown P. spongiae and the YPC-grown P. spongiae did not. We report here for the first time that bacterial biofilm formation was associated with its induction of larval settlement.