Biofilm Dispersal for Spore Release in Bacillus subtilis.

Ákos T Kovács, Nicola R Stanley-Wall

Journal of bacteriology 2021 Jun 22

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The dispersal of bacterial cells from a matured biofilm can be mediated either by active or passive mechanisms. In this issue of the Journal of Bacteriology, Nishikawa and Kobayashi demonstrate that the presence of calcium influences the dispersal of spores from the pellicle biofilm of Bacillus subtilis (M. Nishikawa and K. Kobayashi, J Bacteriol 203:e00114-21, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1128/JB.00114-21). The authors propose that temporal heterogeneity in matrix production and chelation of calcium by dipicolinic acid in spores weakens the biofilm matrix and causes passive dispersal.

Citation

Ákos T Kovács, Nicola R Stanley-Wall. Biofilm Dispersal for Spore Release in Bacillus subtilis. Journal of bacteriology. 2021 Jun 22;203(14):e0019221