Selective heterogeneity in exoprotease production by Bacillus subtilis.

ABSTRACT: Bacteria have elaborate signalling mechanisms to ensure a behavioural response that is most likely to enhance survival in a changing environment. It is becoming increasingly apparent that as part of this response, bacteria are capable of cell differentiation and can generate multiple, mutually exclusive co-existing cell states. These cell states are often associated with multicellular processes that bring benefit to the community as a whole but which may be, paradoxically, disadvantageous to an individual subpopulation. How this process of cell differentiation is controlled is intriguing and remains a largely open question. In this paper, we consider an important aspect of cell differentiation that is known to occur in the gram-positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis: we investigate the role

SUBMITTER: Davidson FA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3380070 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature