A bacterial volatile signal for biofilm formation

Bacteria constantly monitor the environment they reside in and respond to potential changes in the environment through a variety of signal sensing and transduction mechanisms in a timely fashion. Those signaling mechanisms often involve application of small, diffusible chemical molecules. Volatiles are a group of small air-transmittable chemicals that are produced universally by all kingdoms of organisms. Past studies have shown that volatiles can function as cell-cell communication signals not only within species, but also cross-species. However, little is known about how the volatile-mediated signaling mechanism works. In our recent study (Chen, et al. mBio (2015), 6: e00392-15), we demonstrated that the soil bacterium Bacillus subtilis uses acetic acid as a volatile signal to coordinate the timing of biofilm formation within physically separated cells in the community. We also showed that the bacterium possesses an intertwined gene network to produce, secrete, sense, and respond to acetic acid, in stimulating biofilm formation. Interestingly, many of those genes are highly conserved in other bacterial species, raising the possibility that acetic acid may act as a volatile signal for cross-species communication.