Regulation of Biofilm Aging and Dispersal in Bacillus subtilis by the Alternative Sigma Factor SigB.

ABSTRACT: Bacterial biofilms are important in natural settings, biotechnology, and medicine. However, regulation of biofilm development and its persistence in different niches is complex and only partially understood. One key step during the biofilm life cycle is dispersal, when motile cells abandon the mature biofilm to spread out and colonize new niches. Here, we show that in the model bacterium Bacillus subtilis the general stress transcription factor SigB is essential for halting detrimental overgrowth of mature biofilm and for triggering dispersal when nutrients become limited. Specifically, SigB-deficient biofilms were larger than wild-type biofilms but exhibited accelerated cell death, significantly greater sensitivity to different stresses, and reduced dispersal. Interestingly, the si

SUBMITTER: Bartolini M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6304664 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature