Sofia Arnaouteli

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors outline the molecular details of the biofilm matrix and the regulatory pathways and external factors that control its production, and highlight major advances in our understanding of microbial evolution and community behaviour that have resulted from studies of the innate heterogeneity of biofilms.

TL;DR: The Bacillus subtilis probiotic strain PXN21 inhibits α-synuclein aggregation and clears preformed aggregates in an established Caenorhabditis elegans model of synucleinopathy, and functional roles of the sphingolipid metabolism genes lagr-1, asm-3, and sptl-3 in the anti-aggregation effect are demonstrated.

TL;DR: It is established that monomeric BSlA is necessary and sufficient to give rise to complex biofilm architecture, whereas dimerization of BslA is required to render the community hydrophobic, and that these roles can be genetically separated through targeted amino acid substitutions.

TL;DR: The Gram-positive soil bacterium Bacillus subtilis biofilm presents as an architecturally complex, highly hydrophobic community that resists wetting by water, solvents, and biocides.

TL;DR: It is revealed that the formation of an extracellular iron chelate restricts the expansion of a biofilm, and it is identified that pulcherriminic acid producers can prevent invasion by neighboring communities through the generation of an “iron-free” zone, thereby addressing the paradox of pulcheriminic acid production by B. subtilis.