{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,2]],"date-time":"2026-09-02T02:20:50Z","timestamp":1788315650666,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"Oxford University Press (OUP)","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,5,17]],"date-time":"2022-05-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1652745600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/journals\/pages\/open_access\/funder_policies\/chorus\/standard_publication_model"}],"funder":[{"name":"Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology"},{"name":"FCT","award":["PTDC\/BIA-MIC\/28271\/2017"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PTDC\/BIA-MIC\/28271\/2017"]}]},{"name":"FCT","award":["POCI-01-0145-FEDER-028271"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["POCI-01-0145-FEDER-028271"]}]},{"name":"FCT","award":["UID\/BIO\/04469\/2020"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UID\/BIO\/04469\/2020"]}]},{"name":"FCT","award":["PD\/BD\/128037\/2016"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PD\/BD\/128037\/2016"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2022,7,28]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n               <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Bacterial vaginosis (BV), the most common cause of vaginal discharge, is characterized by the presence of a polymicrobial biofilm on the vaginal epithelium, formed primarily by Gardnerella spp., but also other anaerobic species. Interactions between bacteria in multi-species biofilms are likely to contribute to increased virulence and to enhanced antimicrobial tolerance observed in vivo. However, functional studies addressing this question are lacking.<\/jats:p>\n               <\/jats:sec>\n               <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Objectives<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>To gain insights into the role that interactions between BV-associated species in multi-species BV biofilms might have on antimicrobial tolerance, single- and triple-species biofilms formed by Gardnerella vaginalis, Fannyhessea (Atopobium) vaginae and Peptostreptococcus anaerobius were characterized, before and after metronidazole or clindamycin treatment.<\/jats:p>\n               <\/jats:sec>\n               <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Total biofilm biomass, total cells and cfu counts prior to and after antibiotic treatment were first determined. In addition, bacterial populations in the triple-species biofilms were also quantified by quantitative PCR (qPCR) and peptide nucleic acid (PNA) fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH).<\/jats:p>\n               <\/jats:sec>\n               <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Despite the effect observed in single-species biofilms, neither metronidazole nor clindamycin was effective in reducing triple-species biofilm biomass. Similar results were obtained when evaluating the number of total or culturable cells. Interestingly, despite differences between strain susceptibilities to antibiotics, the composition of the triple-species biofilms was not strongly affected by antibiotics.<\/jats:p>\n               <\/jats:sec>\n               <jats:sec>\n                  <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Taken together, these results strengthen the idea that, when co-incubated, bacteria can interact synergistically, leading to increased tolerance to antimicrobial therapy, which helps explain the observed clinically high BV recurrence rates.<\/jats:p>\n               <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1093\/jac\/dkac155","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,4,28]],"date-time":"2022-04-28T19:18:23Z","timestamp":1651173503000},"page":"2183-2190","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":24,"title":["<i>In vitro<\/i> interactions within a biofilm containing three species found in bacterial vaginosis (BV) support the higher antimicrobial tolerance associated with BV recurrence"],"prefix":"10.1093","volume":"77","author":[{"given":"Aliona S","family":"Rosca","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Research in Biofilms Ros\u00e1rio Oliveira (LIBRO), Centre of Biological Engineering (CEB), University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar , 4710-057 Braga , Portugal"},{"name":"Laboratory of Bacteriology Research (LBR), Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University , 9000 Ghent , Belgium"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Joana","family":"Castro","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Research in Biofilms Ros\u00e1rio Oliveira (LIBRO), Centre of Biological Engineering (CEB), University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar , 4710-057 Braga , Portugal"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"L\u00facia G V","family":"Sousa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Research in Biofilms Ros\u00e1rio Oliveira (LIBRO), Centre of Biological Engineering (CEB), University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar , 4710-057 Braga , Portugal"},{"name":"LABBELS \u2013 Associate Laboratory , Braga\/Guimar\u00e3es , Portugal"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7117-6837","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Angela","family":"Fran\u00e7a","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Research in Biofilms Ros\u00e1rio Oliveira (LIBRO), Centre of Biological Engineering (CEB), University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar , 4710-057 Braga , Portugal"},{"name":"LABBELS \u2013 Associate Laboratory , Braga\/Guimar\u00e3es , Portugal"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mario","family":"Vaneechoutte","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Bacteriology Research (LBR), Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University , 9000 Ghent , 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