<P> Bacteria living in a biofilm usually have significantly different properties from free - floating bacteria of the same species , as the dense and protected environment of the film allows them to cooperate and interact in various ways . One benefit of this environment is increased resistance to detergents and antibiotics , as the dense extracellular matrix and the outer layer of cells protect the interior of the community . In some cases antibiotic resistance can be increased a thousandfold . Lateral gene transfer is often facilitated within bacterial and archaeal biofilms and leads to a more stable biofilm structure . Extracellular DNA is a major structural component of many different microbial biofilms . Enzymatic degradation of extracellular DNA can weaken the biofilm structure and release microbial cells from the surface . </P>
why do bacteria in a biofilm have different characteristics than free-floating bacteria
the dense and protected environment of the film allows them to cooperate and interact in various ways