Review of Heavy Metal Effects on Biofilm Formation and Gene Transfer

A systematic review analyzes 63 peer-reviewed studies published between 2005 and 2026. The work evaluates the influence of heavy metal(loid)s on bacterial biofilm development and plasmid-mediated antibiotic resistance gene transfer. Author Katayoun Dadeh Amirfard published the review on figshare in 2026.

Use Cases

• Reviewing experimental evidence on metal-specific effects on conjugation based on the analysis of 63 studies.
• Investigating concentration-dependent effects of metals like copper and zinc on biofilm formation.
• Analyzing mechanisms such as reactive oxygen species (ROS) and membrane permeability changes influencing horizontal gene transfer.
• Comparing variability in metal effects among different bacterial strains as described in the review.

Strengths

• Systematically evaluates 63 peer-reviewed studies.
• Focuses on metal-specific and concentration-dependent effects, including sub-inhibitory levels of essential metals.
• Identifies specific modulatory factors like reactive oxygen species (ROS) as critical mechanisms.

Limitations

• The dataset is a review document (274.7 KB), not a primary data collection; its scope is limited to synthesized evidence.
• Row count and column-level documentation are absent; the content is textual analysis.
• Data may reflect bias inherent to the reviewed literature's experimental conditions and publication trends.

Provenance

Source

figshare

Collection Method

Systematic review and analysis of published experimental studies.

Time Range

Studies published between 2005 and 2026

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-06 09:01:50