Recently it was demonstrated that for urinary tract infections species with a lower or unproven pathogenic potential, such as Delftia tsuruhatensis and Achromobacter xylosoxidans, might interact with conventional pathogenic agents such as Escherichia coli. Here, single- and dual-species biofilms of these microorganisms were characterized in terms of microbial composition over time, the average fitness of E. coli, the spatial organization and the biofilm antimicrobial profile. The results revealed a positive impact of these species on the fitness of E. coli and a greater tolerance to the antibiotic agents. In dual-species biofilms exposed to antibiotics, E. coli was able to dominate the microbial consortia in spite of being the most sensitive strain. This is the first study demonstrating the protective effect of less common species over E. coli under adverse conditions imposed by the use of antibiotic agents.
Keywords: Escherichia coli; LNA/2′OMe-FISH; Multispecies biofilms; antibiotics; catheter-associated urinary tract infections; uncommon species.