A new way to dispearce biofilms.

Perhaps this could be used in a few reef tank applications? ;)


Sponges, biofilms and a medical breakthrough 'akin to penicillin' (23 March 2009)
http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2009/03/sponges-biofilms-and-medical.html

From this article:

"The March 2009 Journal of Bacteriology features Davies' research on forcing biofilm dispersion by using bacteria's own chemical signals against them. Biofilm colonies disperse naturally in response to environmental factors or to spread and form new colonies. Davies and his colleagues have discovered a chemical signal, in the form of a fatty acid, that tells bacteria it is time to break up.

He hopes this naturally occurring molecule, cis-2-decenoic acid or CDA, which is approved by the Food and Drug Administration as a food additive, could be used to fight infection. Because it does not kill bacteria, he says, it should not trigger the development of resistant bacteria, which could happen through natural selection if the chemical killed its targets."
 
This would be way easier than pumping the Zeovit filters to slough off the biofilm. Just set a dosing pump to squirt some of this fatty acid each night and clear off the zeoliths automatically.
 
But doesnt every surface under the water become a biofilm? If so, perhaps this would do more harm than good by causing them all the break up? Just doesnt seem like something id wanna do in a display, maybe for coral dips?
 
I'd be concerned that it would be specific to a particular species of bacteria, or a set of species, and maybe not any of those that grow in reef tanks. :)
 
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