Bibliography

"Curli expression of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli"
(Szabó E, Skedsmo A, Sonnevend A, et al. Microbiologica. 2005;50(1):40-46)
While the paper does not directly analyse the binding of curlis to plastics, the data generated by the paper indicates the necessity of curlis for plastic adherence. The paper correlates the expression of curlis via congo red dye, with the binding of cells to plastic.
<a href="http://http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15954532" title="Reference Link">Reference Link</a>

"CsgD, a regulator of curli and cellulose synthesis, also regulates serine hydroxymethyltransferase synthesis in Escherichia coli K-12." (Chirwa NT, Herrington MB.Microbiology. 2003;149(Pt 2):525-535.) The findings of the paper suggest that the expression of curlis allows E. Coli to bind to plastic surfaces. <a href="http://http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15954532" title="Reference Link">Reference Link</a>

"IrrE, a global regulator of extreme radiation resistance in Deinococcus radiodurans, enhances salt tolerance in Escherichia coli and Brassica napus.(Pan, J., Wang, J., Zhou, Z.(2009)PloS one, 4(2), e4422. This paper indicates that IrrE, a gene from Deinococcus radiodurans, protects E. Coli from several abiotic stresses, including salt shock. We intend to utilise this protective property of the gene in our system, to allow the cells to endure ocean salinity. <a href="http://http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15954532" title="Reference Link">Reference Link</a>