FIG. 1.

FESEM analysis of D. geothermalis E50051 biofilms grown on polished (1,000 grit) stainless steel. Laboratory biofilms were grown in sterilized paper machine circulating water medium (1 day, 45°C, 160 rpm). The few rod-shaped dead bacteria and cellulose fibrils adhering to the growing deinococcal colonies (arrows 1 and 2 in panel A) originated from the heat-sterilized medium. Thin adhesion threads mediated the cell-to-cell attachment and connected the cells to the stainless steel surface (arrows in panels B, C, and D).