Abstract
Biofilm formation is a social behaviour that generates favourable conditions for sustained survival in the natural environment. For the Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis the process involves the differentiation of cell fate within an isogenic population and the production of communal goods that form the biofilm matrix. Here we review recent progress in understanding the regulatory pathways that control biofilm formation and highlight developments in understanding the composition, function and structure of the biofilm matrix.
Highlights
It is recognized that the majority of microbes live in complex sessile communities called biofilms
For the Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis the process involves the differentiation of cell fate within an isogenic population and the production of communal goods that form the biofilm matrix
It should be noted that highly comparable cellular differentiation events have been identified in the related entomopathogen Bacillus thuringiensis where defined cell fates have been observed during biofilm formation (Fagerlund et al, 2014)
Summary
Biofilm formation is a social behaviour that generates favourable conditions for sustained survival in the natural environment. For the Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis the process involves the differentiation of cell fate within an isogenic population and the production of communal goods that form the biofilm matrix. We review recent progress in understanding the regulatory pathways that control biofilm formation and highlight developments in understanding the composition, function and structure of the biofilm matrix
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