Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 7, 2025

Single-cell Analysis of Bacillus subtilis Biofilms Using Fluorescence Microscopy and Flow Cytometry
Published on: February 15, 2012
Biofilm Dispersal for Spore Release in Bacillus subtilis
Ákos T Kovács1, Nicola R Stanley-Wall2
1Bacterial Interactions and Evolution Group, DTU Bioengineering, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark.
Abstract:
The dispersal of bacterial cells from a matured biofilm can be mediated either by active or passive mechanisms. In this issue of the Journal of Bacteriology, Nishikawa and Kobayashi demonstrate that the presence of calcium influences the dispersal of spores from the pellicle biofilm of Bacillus subtilis (M. Nishikawa and K. Kobayashi, J Bacteriol 203:e00114-21, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1128/JB.00114-21). The authors propose that temporal heterogeneity in matrix production and chelation of calcium by dipicolinic acid in spores weakens the biofilm matrix and causes passive dispersal.
Related Concept Videos
Gene Regulation During Sporulation
Endospores and Sporulation
Biofilms

