Acute high shear stress enhances fungal cell/substrate adhesion.

Mechanical forces shape biological functions at all levels of life: biomolecules, cells, tissues, and organs. Shear flow, i.e., the transfer of momentum from regions of high momentum to those of lower momentum, influences the formation of microbial biofilms. Biofilms are complex structures composed of living cells and extracellular matrix that protects microbes from the host immune system, antimicrobial drugs, and physical damage. Despite the diversity of microbial morphology, behavior, and life cycle, biofilm formation is a conserved, multi-step process that follows a common sequence across microbial species. The initial step of this process is the adhesion of a microbe to a surface. This step is controlled by interfacial properties, including surface architecture, hydrophobicity, and composition, as well as environmental factors such as pH, nutrient availability, and physical/mechanical forces. Cell-surface adhesion molecules play a central role in the initiation of biofilm formation. In cellular fungi such as