{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,18]],"date-time":"2026-08-18T04:53:04Z","timestamp":1787028784081,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,30]],"date-time":"2025-05-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1748563200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Blaser Swisslube AG"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Life"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Biofouling, the undesirable deposition of microorganisms on surfaces, is ubiquitous in aqueous systems. This is no different for systems running with water-miscible metalworking fluids (MWFs), which additionally contain many organic chemicals that create favorable conditions for growth and metabolism. Biofilm formation is thus inevitable, as there is no shortage of wetted surfaces in metalworking systems. MWF manufacturers tried in vain to offer resistance by using biocides and biostatic compounds as ingredients in concentrates and as tank-side additives. We report here that such elements, alone or as components of MWFs, did not prevent biofilm formation and had negligible effects on pre-established laboratory biofilms. Moreover, biofilms in metalworking systems are interwoven with residues, sediments, and metal swarfs generated during machining. Again, co-incubation of such \u201creal\u201d biofilms with MWFs had no significant effect on population size\u2014but on population composition! The implications of this finding are unclear but could provide a starting point for the treatment of biofouling, as biofilm population structure might be of importance. Finally, we show that bacteria gain function in biofilms and that they were able to degrade a toxic amine in MWFs, which the same bacteria were unable to do in planktonic form.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/life15060890","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,3]],"date-time":"2025-06-03T03:57:18Z","timestamp":1748923038000},"page":"890","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["It Is Useless to Resist: Biofilms in Metalworking Fluid Systems"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Giulia","family":"von K\u00e4nel","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology, Blaser Swisslube AG, CH-3415 Hasle-R\u00fcegsau, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lara Ylenia","family":"Steinmann","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology, Blaser Swisslube AG, CH-3415 Hasle-R\u00fcegsau, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Britta","family":"Mauz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Analytics, Blaser Swisslube AG, CH-3415 Hasle-R\u00fcegsau, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Robert","family":"Lukesch","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology, Blaser Swisslube AG, CH-3415 Hasle-R\u00fcegsau, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Peter","family":"K\u00fcenzi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology, Blaser Swisslube AG, CH-3415 Hasle-R\u00fcegsau, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1016\/j.watres.2018.11.020","article-title":"Extracellular polymeric substances of biofilms: Suffering from an identity crisis","volume":"151","author":"Seviour","year":"2019","journal-title":"Water Res."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"247","DOI":"10.1038\/s41579-019-0158-9","article-title":"Bacteria and archaea on Earth and their abundance in biofilms","volume":"17","author":"Flemming","year":"2019","journal-title":"Nat. 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