Effects of phosphorelay perturbations on architecture, sporulation, and spore resistance in biofilms of Bacillus subtilis.

ABSTRACT: The spore-forming bacterium Bacillus subtilis is able to form highly organized multicellular communities called biofilms. This coordinated bacterial behavior is often lost in domesticated or laboratory strains as a result of planktonic growth in rich media for many generations. However, we show here that the laboratory strain B. subtilis 168 is still capable of forming spatially organized multicellular communities on minimal medium agar plates, exemplified by colonies with vein-like structures formed by elevated bundles of cells. In line with the current model for biofilm formation, we demonstrate that overproduction of the phosphorelay components KinA and Spo0A stimulates bundle formation, while overproduction of the transition state regulators AbrB and SinR leads to repression of formati

SUBMITTER: Veening JW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1447011 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature