AUTHOR=Barbosa Ana , Miranda Sónia , Azevedo Nuno F. , Cerqueira Laura , Azevedo Andreia S. TITLE=Imaging biofilms using fluorescence in situ hybridization: seeing is believing JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology VOLUME=13 YEAR=2023 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-microbiology/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2023.1195803 DOI=10.3389/fcimb.2023.1195803 ISSN=2235-2988 ABSTRACT=
Biofilms are complex structures with an intricate relationship between the resident microorganisms, the extracellular matrix, and the surrounding environment. Interest in biofilms is growing exponentially given its ubiquity in so diverse fields such as healthcare, environmental and industry. Molecular techniques (e.g., next-generation sequencing, RNA-seq) have been used to study biofilm properties. However, these techniques disrupt the spatial structure of biofilms; therefore, they do not allow to observe the location/position of biofilm components (e.g., cells, genes, metabolites), which is particularly relevant to explore and study the interactions and functions of microorganisms. Fluorescence