“…In contrast, the significance of eDNA for cellular attachment and structural integrity has more recently been recognized for an increasing number of Gram-negative and Grampositive species (Whitchurch et al, 2002;Steinberger and Holden, 2005;Allesen-Holm et al, 2006;Moscoso et al, 2006;Jurcisek and Bakaletz, 2007;Qin et al, 2007;Izano et al, 2008;Thomas et al, 2008;Heijstra et al, 2009;Vilain et al, 2009;Harmsen et al, 2010;Lappann et al, 2010). Release of DNA in bacterial biofilms has mainly been attributed to the lysis of a cellular subpopulation, mediated by the activity of autolysis systems (Allesen-Holm et al, 2006;Rice et al, 2007;Thomas et al, 2008Thomas et al, , 2009Mann et al, 2009). The analysis of aggregates formed by S. oneidensis MR-1 in planktonic cultures indicated the presence of proteins, a-D-mannose or a-D-glucose containing exopolysaccharides, and substantial amounts of eDNA (McLean et al, 2008b).…”