Editing Slime layer (section)

== Structure ==
Slime layers are amorphous and inconsistent in thickness, being produced in various quantities depending upon the cell type and environment.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Silverman|first1=D J|last2=Wisseman|first2=C L|last3=Waddell|first3=A D|last4=Jones|first4=M|date=1978|title=External layers of Rickettsia prowazekii and Rickettsia rickettsii: occurrence of a slime layer.|journal=Infection and Immunity|volume=22|issue=1|pages=233–246|doi=10.1128/iai.22.1.233-246.1978|pmid=83297 |pmc=422141 |issn=0019-9567|doi-access=free}}</ref> These layers present themselves as strands hanging extracellularly and forming net-like structures between cells that were 1-4μm apart.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last1=Jones|first1=H. C.|last2=Roth|first2=I. L.|last3=Sanders|first3=W. M.|date=1969|title=Electron Microscopic Study of a Slime Layer|journal=Journal of Bacteriology|volume=99|issue=1|pages=316–325|doi=10.1128/jb.99.1.316-325.1969|pmid=5802613 |pmc=250005 |issn=0021-9193|doi-access=free}}</ref> Researchers suggested that a cell will slow formation of the slime layer after around 9 days of growth, perhaps due to slower metabolic activity.<ref name=":2" />

A [[bacterial capsule]] is similar, but is more rigid than the slime layer. Capsules are more organized and difficult to remove compared to their slime layer counterparts.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Park YD, Williamson PR | title = Masking the Pathogen: Evolutionary Strategies of Fungi and Their Bacterial Counterparts | journal = Journal of Fungi | volume = 1 | issue = 3 | pages = 397–421 | date = December 2015 | pmid = 29376918 | pmc = 5753132 | doi = 10.3390/jof1030397 | doi-access = free }}</ref> Another highly organized, but separate structure is an [[S-layer]]. S-layers are structures that integrate themselves into the cell wall and are composed of glycoproteins, these layers can offer the cell rigidity and protection.<ref>{{Cite web|title=6: Bacteria - Surface Structures|url=https://bio.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Microbiology/Book%3A_Microbiology_(Bruslind)/06%3A_Bacteria_-_Surface_Structures|date=2018-02-06|website=Biology LibreTexts|language=en|access-date=2020-05-15}}</ref> Because a slime layer is loose and flowing, it does not aide the cell in its rigidity.

While [[biofilm]]s can be composed of slime layer producing bacteria, it is typically not their main composition. Rather, a biofilm is made up of an array of microorganisms that come together to form a cohesive biofilm.<ref>{{Citation|last1=Kannan|first1=Marikani|title=Chapter 19 - Silver Iodide Nanoparticles as an Antibiofilm Agent—A Case Study on Gram-Negative Biofilm-Forming Bacteria|date=2017-01-01|url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780323461528000196|work=Nanostructures for Antimicrobial Therapy|pages=435–456|editor-last=Ficai|editor-first=Anton|series=Micro and Nano Technologies|publisher=Elsevier|language=en|doi=10.1016/b978-0-323-46152-8.00019-6|isbn=978-0-323-46152-8|access-date=2020-05-06|last2=Rajarathinam|first2=Kaniappan|last3=Venkatesan|first3=Srinivasan|last4=Dheeba|first4=Baskaran|last5=Maniraj|first5=Ayyan|editor2-last=Grumezescu|editor2-first=Alexandru Mihai|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Although, there are homogeneous biofilms that can form. For example, the plaque that forms on the surfaces of teeth is caused by a biofilm formation of primarily ''[[Streptococcus mutans]]'' and the slow breakdown of tooth enamel.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|title=Structure and Function of Bacterial Cells|url=http://textbookofbacteriology.net/structure_4.html|website=textbookofbacteriology.net|access-date=2020-05-16}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|last1=Salton|first1=Milton R. J.|title=Structure|date=1996|url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK8477/|work=Medical Microbiology|editor-last=Baron|editor-first=Samuel|edition=4th|publisher=University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston|isbn=978-0-9631172-1-2|pmid=21413343|access-date=2020-05-16|last2=Kim|first2=Kwang-Shin}}</ref>