Currently, there are over 170 recognized species of Mycobacterium, the only genus in the family Mycobacteriaceae. Organisms belonging to this genus are quite diverse with respect to their ability to cause disease in humans. The Mycobacterium genus includes human pathogens (Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex and Mycobacterium leprae) and environmental microorganisms known as non-tuberculosis mycobacteria (NTM). A common pathogenic factor of Mycobacterium is the formation of biofilms. Bacterial biofilms are usually defined as bacterial communities attached to the surface, and are also considered as shared spaces of encapsulated microbial cells, including various extracellular polymeric substrates (EPS), such as polysaccharides, proteins, amyloid proteins, lipids, and extracellular DNA (EDNA), as well as membrane vesicles and humic like microorganisms derived refractory substances. The assembly and dynamics of the matrix are mainly coordinated by second messengers, signaling molecules, or small RNAs. Fully deciphering how bacteria provide structure for the matrix, thereby promoting extracellular reactions and benefiting from them, remains a challenge for future biofilm research. This review introduces a five step development model for biofilms and a new model for biofilm formation, analyses the pathogenicity of biofilms, their interactions with bacteriophages and host immune cells, and the key genes and regulatory networks of mycobacterial biofilms, as well as mycobacterial biofilms and drug resistance, in order to provide a basis for clinical treatment of diseases caused by biofilms.
目前，已知的分枝杆菌属有170多种，是分枝杆菌科中唯一的属。该属的微生物在引起人类疾病的能力方面呈现多样化。分枝杆菌属包括人类病原体(结核分枝杆菌复合菌群和麻风分枝杆菌)和被称为非结核分枝杆菌(non-tuberculosis mycobacteria，NTM)的环境微生物。分枝杆菌的一个常见致病因素是生物被膜的形成。细菌生物被膜通常被定义为表面附着的细菌群落，也被认为是被包裹的微生物细胞的共享空间，包括各种胞外聚合物基质(extracellular polymeric substances，EPS)，如多糖、蛋白质、淀粉样蛋白、脂类和胞外DNA (extracellular DNA，EDNA)，以及膜小泡和类腐殖质微生物衍生的难降解物质。基质的组装和动力学主要由第二信使、信号分子或小RNA协调。完全破译细菌如何为基质提供结构，从而促进细胞外反应并从中受益，仍然是未来生物被膜研究的挑战。本文介绍了生物被膜五步发育模型和生物被膜形成的新模型，分析了生物被膜的致病性，与噬菌体、宿主免疫细胞的互作，同时解析了分枝杆菌生物被膜关键基因及调控网络，分枝杆菌生物被膜与耐药性，以期为临床上治疗由生物被膜引起的疾病提供基础。.
Keywords: Mycobacteria; antibiotic resistance; biofilm.