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Call for Papers - Biofilms and its impact on disease

Guest Editors:
Vijay Singh Gondil: University of Rochester, USA
Bindu Subhadra: Long Island University, USA

Submission Status: Open   |   Submission Deadline: 31 December 2023


BMC Microbiology is calling for submissions to our Collection on Biofilms and Disease. The collection aims to cover the bacterial, fungal and protist biofilms, biology of biofilms formation, their antimicrobial resistance, impact on disease and human health from a biological angle, biofilm infections, their role in pathogenesis of disease, interactions with the microbiome, the mechanistic insight into targeting biofilms towards infection cure and new advances in the study of biofilms among other topics.

Meet the Guest Editors

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Vijay Singh Gondil, University of Rochester, USA

Vijay has a PhD in Microbiology from Panjab University Chandigarh with special interest in antibiotic resistance, bacterial infections, biofilms and bacteriophage borne lysins. After his PhD, he worked on the molecular engineering of the bacteriophage borne lysins in the Wuhan Institute of Virology as an ICGEB SMART fellow. As a postdoctoral researcher, Vijay worked in the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh and University of Georgia, GA. Currently he is working as a research associate at University of Rochester Medical Center and exploring alternative therapeutic drug target to combat antibiotic resistance.  
 

Bindu Subhadra, Long Island University, USA
Bindu Subhadra is currently working as a research associate at Long Island University, New York, USA. Bindu has a background in molecular bacteriology and has been working on the transcriptional regulation of various biological processes including biofilm formation, multidrug resistance, virulence, motility, quorum sensing, and pathogenesis of various pathogens including Acinetobacter nosocomialis, uropathogenic Escherichia coli and Mycobacterium. Bindu’s current research focuses on the sRNA regulation and the role of chaperone proteins in the veterinary pathogen, Histophilus somni.



About the collection

BMC Microbiology is calling for submissions to our Collection on Biofilms and its impact on disease

Biofilms can be formed by bacteria, fungi and protists. While biofilm formation can have some positive effects like those formed by the commensal, Staphylococcus epidermidis that prevents the colonization by pathogenic bacteria, most biofilms are associated with infection like those seen in Cystic Fibrosis and dental plaque. Biofilm formation aids microbial growth by making them less susceptible to antimicrobials. Biofilms also protect their microorganisms from their host immune system, allowing for establishment and sustenance of long-term infections. The ability of biofilms to survive hostile environments as well as their long-term antimicrobial-resistant colonization on surfaces make them chronic and difficult to treat. As this has become more and more prevalent, research on how biofilms are formed, their pathogenicity and combating strategies have been at the forefront of infection biology and medicine. In recognition of this expanding research area, BMC Microbiology welcomes submissions to the collection on Biofilms and its impact on disease and human health. The collection broadly aims to cover the following topics:

  • Biofilm formation and functionality
  • Positive and negative effects of biofilms on human health
  • Biofilm and infection
  • Biofilms and antibiotic resistance
  • Biofilm dispersal and prevention
  • Biofilms and microbiome 
  • Role in pathogenesis of disease
  • Cell-cell communication within the biofilm context
  • New technologies and advances in biofilm research (with its impact of disease)
  • Targets for treatment of biofilm infections
  • Antibiofilm agents and strategies
  • Regulation of biofilms
  • Biofilms and alternative agents


Image credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

  1. Staphylococcus haemolyticus (S. haemolyticus) is the main etiological factor in skin and soft tissue infections (SSTI). S. haemolyticus infections are an important concern worldwide, especially with the associate...

    Authors: Jiaxin Liu, Ruijie Liu, Rongrong Deng, Shiqian Zheng and Zhibin Shen
    Citation: BMC Microbiology 2023 23:276
    Content type: Research Published on:

  2. Severe infections caused by β- lactamase producers, hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae (BhvKp) with K2 serotype, highlight emergency need for new therapeutic strategies against this pathogen. We aimed to assess ...

    Authors: Sara Rahimi, Mehdi Bakht, Amir Javadi, Farshad Foroughi, Seyed Mahmoud Amin Marashi and Farhad Nikkhahi
    Citation: BMC Microbiology 2023 23:233
    Content type: Research Published on:

  3. Bacteria in nature live together in communities called biofilms, where they produce a matrix that protects them from hostile environments. The components of this matrix vary among species, with Salmonella enteric...

    Authors: Kavi Bharathi R., Srinandan C. S. and Sai Subramanian N
    Citation: BMC Microbiology 2023 23:230
    Content type: Research Published on:

  4. Healthcare workers may pave the way for increased infections in hospitalized patients by coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS). Biofilm formation and antibiotic resistance are the major problems posed by CoN...

    Authors: Davood Kalantar-Neyestanaki, Shahla Mansouri, Omid Tadjrobehkar and Elham Isaei
    Citation: BMC Microbiology 2023 23:222
    Content type: Research Published on:

  6. Biofilms are complex, three-dimensional structures that provide a long-established survival mechanism for microorganisms. Biofilms play a substantial role in pathogenesis as they can evade the immune response ...

    Authors: Vijay Singh Gondil and Bindu Subhadra
    Citation: BMC Microbiology 2023 23:203
    Content type: Editorial Published on:

  7. Infection with Helicobacter pylori as the cause of gastric cancer is a global public health concern. In addition to protecting germs from antibiotics, biofilms reduce the efficacy of H. pylori eradication therapy...

    Authors: Kartika Afrida Fauzia, Hafeza Aftab, Muhammad Miftahussurur, Langgeng Agung Waskito, Vo Phuoc Tuan, Ricky Indra Alfaray, Takashi Matsumoto, Michiyuki Yurugi, Phawinee Subsomwong, Evariste Tshibangu Kabamba, Junko Akada and Yoshio Yamaoka
    Citation: BMC Microbiology 2023 23:159
    Content type: Research Published on:

  8. The global crisis of antibiotic resistance increases the demand for the novel promising alternative drugs such as antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). Here, the antibiofilm activity of the WLBU2 peptide against Pseudom...

    Authors: Sara Masihzadeh, Mansour Amin and Zahra Farshadzadeh
    Citation: BMC Microbiology 2023 23:131
    Content type: Research Published on:

  9. COVID-19 has emerged as a global pandemic, challenging the world’s economic and health systems. Human oral microbiota comprises the second largest microbial community after the gut microbiota and is closely re...

    Authors: Nana Wei, Guangqi Zhu, Tingxiao Zhao, Yan Wang, Haifei Lou, Haoxuan Li, Zhejuan Yang, Zheen Zhang, Qiujing Wang, Mingfang Han, Zhibing Lin and Shibo Li
    Citation: BMC Microbiology 2023 23:123
    Content type: Research Published on:

  10. Probiotics can reduce free radical scavenging rate and oxidative damage, and improve activity of crucial antioxidative enzymes in host cells. This study aimed to isolate Bifidobacterium spp. from faeces of babies...

    Authors: Ya Wang, Jiahui Wang, Hehai Li, Jianlong Lao, Dan Jia, Junlong Liu, Jinming Wang, Jianxun Luo, Guiquan Guan, Hong Yin and Youquan Li
    Citation: BMC Microbiology 2023 23:103
    Content type: Research Published on:

Submission Guidelines

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This Collection welcomes submission of Research Articles. Before submitting your manuscript, please ensure you have read our submission guidelines. Articles for this Collection should be submitted via our submission system, SNAPP. During the submission process you will be asked whether you are submitting to a Collection, please select "Biofilms and its impact on disease" from the dropdown menu.

Articles will undergo the journal’s standard peer-review process and are subject to all of the journal’s standard policies. Articles will be added to the Collection as they are published.

The Guest Editors have no competing interests with the submissions which they handle through the peer review process. The peer review of any submissions for which the Guest Editors have competing interests is handled by another Editorial Board Member who has no competing interests.