Altered host cell-bacteria interaction due to nanoparticle interaction with a bacterial biofilm

Nanoparticle (NP) use in everyday applications creates the potential for NPs to enter the environment where, in aquatic systems, they are likely to settle on substrates and interact with microbial communities. Legionella pneumophila biofilms are found as part of microbial communities in both natural and man-made environments, especially in man-made cooling systems. The bacterium is the causative agent of Legionnaires' disease. Legionella requires a host cell for replication in the environment, and amoebae commonly serve as this host cell. Our previous work demonstrated significant changes in Legionella biofilm morphology after exposure to 0.7 μg/L gold NPs (AuNPs). Here, we investigate how these morphology changes alter host-bacteria interactions using Acanthamoeba polyphaga as a model. Host-bacteria-NP interactions are affected by NP characteristics. Biofilms exposed to 4- and 18-nm, citrate-capped, spherical AuNPs significantly altered the grazing ability of A. polyphaga, which was not observed in biofilms exposed to 24-nm polystyrene beads. Uptake and replication of NP-exposed planktonic L. pneumophila within A. polyphaga were not altered regardless of NP size or core chemistry. Nanomaterial effects on the interaction of benthic organisms and bacteria may be directly or, as shown here, indirectly dependent on bacterial morphology. NP contamination therefore may alter interactions in a normal ecosystem function.