Kaboom! Exploding cells, phage, and biofilm formation
A new study in Nature Communications shows how exploding cells contribute to biofilm formation.
Researchers in Australia have shown that Pseudomonas aeruginosa cells "explode" causing the formation of membrane vesicles and the release of cell contents that are important for biofilm formation. They also showed that this explosive lysis was mediated by enzymes from a cryptic prophage.
Read more at Nature Communications.
Explosive cell lysis as a mechanism for the biogenesis of bacterial membrane vesicles and biofilms
Lynne Turnbull, Masanori Toyofuku, Amelia L. Hynen, Masaharu Kurosawa, Gabriella Pessi, Nicola K. Petty, Sarah R. Osvath, Gerardo Cárcamo-Oyarce, Erin S. Gloag, Raz Shimoni, Ulrich Omasits, Satoshi Ito, Xinhui Yap, Leigh G. Monahan, Rosalia Cavaliere, Christian H. Ahrens, Ian G. Charles, Nobuhiko Nomura, Leo Eberl & Cynthia B. Whitchurch
Nature Communications 7, Article number: 11220 doi:10.1038/ncomms11220
