![]() ![]() subtilis growing on solid surfaces are covered by the redox-sensitive hydrophobin BslA, thereby providing the biofilm with water-repellent attributes 17. This microbial assemblage is encased in an extracellular polysaccharide matrix (EPS), which also contains the extracellular TasA protein 15, 16. subtilis cells need to switch from the planktonic motile to the sessile non-motile lifestyle in which the cells are embedded into a genetically and physiologically heterogeneous, and structurally complex community 2, 6, 7, 14. subtilis to colonize plant roots, thereby allowing the cells to take advantage of nutrients present in root exudates 10– 13. subtilis can form biofilms on solid surfaces (macro-colonies) and at liquid/air interfaces (pellicles) 9. One of the microorganisms in which the genetics and physiology of biofilm formation have been intensively studied is the Gram-positive soil bacterium Bacillus subtilis 2, 6– 8. Biofilms are not only important from an eco-physiological point of view, but they also provide considerable medical and environmental challenges 3, while at the same time also offering new opportunities in biotechnology and bioremediation 4, 5. Many bacterial species can form biofilms, assemblages in which cells of a single or of multiple species co-exist in a self-produced extracellular polymeric matrix 1, 2.
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