Most bacteria can form complex, matrix-containing multicellular communities known as biofilms, which protect residents from environmental stresses such as antibiotic exposure. However, as biofilms age, nutrients become limiting and waste products accumulate, and biofilm disassembly is triggered. Now Kolodkin-Gal et al. have found that d-amino acids found in conditioned medium from mature biofilms of Bacillus subtilis prevent biofilm formation and trigger existing biofilm disassembly.
I. Kolodkin-Gal, D. Romero, S. Cao, J. Clardy, R. Kolter, R. Losick, d-Amino acids trigger biofilm disassembly. Science 328, 627–629 (2010). [Abstract] [Full Text]
