BioTA Episode #34: Biofilms Authors: Seth Higbee1, Pankaj Mehrotra2, J. Phil Gibson1 Prokaryotes are often taught to us as being free living single-celled organisms that lack membrane bound organelles, however, this limited view of prokaryotic life does not capture the modality of life for most bacteria. In reality, many Prokaryotes and Archaea exist in complex communities held together by a matrix of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) in structures called biofilms. Throughout this podcast we speak with three microbiologists: Dr. Brad Borlee from Colorado State University, Dr. Dave Bergmann Black Hills State University, and Dr. Pankaj Mehrotra from the University of the People about how biofilms are formed, how they provide an adaptive advantage to bacteria, how scientists are able to identify the species within them, and how biofilms impact us every day. Listeners will be taken from the inside of their own mouths, to the depths of an abandoned gold mine, and then finally to the weightlessness of outer space as they learn about how biofilms are an integral part of prokaryotic life. This episode is intended to be integrated into a variety of college courses, provide new ins