Title

Biofilms: Electrifying long-range signalling.

Authors

Nunes-Alves, Cláudio

Abstract

The article reports that researcher A. Prindle and colleagues have shown that potassium ion channels are used to propagate electrical signals throughout Bacillus subtilis biofilms in a long-range process, which coordinates the metabolic responses of the community. Changes in membrane potential are linked to the influx of sodium ions or to the efflux of potassium ions.

Subjects

BACILLUS subtilis; POTASSIUM ions; MICROBIAL ecology; MULTIDRUG tolerance (Microbiology); BIOFILMS

Publication

Nature Reviews Microbiology, 2015, Vol 13, Issue 12, p737

ISSN

1740-1526

Publication type

Academic Journal

DOI

10.1038/nrmicro3588