The bulk of bacteria occuring in the environment grow at surfaces, forming biofilms. Bacteria growing in biofilms display a unique phenotype distinct from broth or agar cultured cells. The behaviour of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Bacillus cereus in biofilms is under investigation by proteomic (2D electrophoretorgrams of proteins), as well as genetic analysis. The regulation and function of a number of regulatory elements of P. aeruginosa affected during growth as a biofilm are being studied. The growth, activity and survival of pathogenic bacteria in drinking water biofilms is also under investigation

MacDonald R, Botha AJ, Theron J, Brözel VS: 2001. Use of low vacuum scanning electron microscopy in determining biofilm structure. In Proceedings of the 40th Annual Conference of the Microscopy Society of Southern Africa, Microscopy Society of Southern Africa, pp 51-51.

MacDonald R, Theron J, Brözel VS: 2001. The role of alternative sigma factor rpoS in determining the biofilms structure of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In Proceedings of the 40th Annual Conference of the Microscopy Society of Southern Africa, Microscopy Society of Southern Africa, pp 50-50.

Peta ME, Lindsay D, Brözel VS, Von Holy A: 2001. Viability evaluation of a dairy-associated Bacillus cereus following sanitizer treatment. In Proceedings of the 40th Annual Conference of the Microscopy Society of Southern Africa, Microscopy Society of Southern Africa, pp 45-45.