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Updated: Jul 14, 2026

Assay for Adhesion and Agar Invasion in S. cerevisiae
Published on: November 8, 2006
Bakers' yeast, a model for fungal biofilm formation
1Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Nine Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.
Abstract:
Biofilms are formed by the aggregation of microorganisms into multicellular structures that adhere to surfaces. Here we show that bakers' yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae can initiate biofilm formation. When grown in low-glucose medium, the yeast cells adhered avidly to a number of plastic surfaces. On semi-solid (0.3% agar) medium they formed "mats": complex multicellular structures composed of yeast-form cells. Both attachment to plastic and mat formation require Flo11p, a member of a large family of fungal cell surface glycoproteins involved in adherence. The ability to study biofilm formation in a tractable genetic system may facilitate the identification of new targets for antifungal therapy.
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