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MINI REVIEW article

Front. Bacteriol.
Sec. Molecular Bacteriology and Microbiome
Volume 3 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fbrio.2024.1497132
This article is part of the Research Topic Biofilm Dynamics: Interdisciplinary Insights into Microbial Interactions within the Context of Microbiomes and Host Health View all articles

B. subtilis biofilm as a cybernetic system Mini Review

Provisionally accepted
Mojca Blaznik Mojca Blaznik David Stopar David Stopar *
  • Microbiology, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Here, we view biofilm as a nested cybernetic system that cannot be studied in isolation from the dynamics in the rest of the ecosystem. We provide a systems view of B. subtilis development from the inoculation to hibernation. We propose that B. subtilis biofilm development in an aqueous environment is a temporal response to changes in the ecosystem provoked and caused by bacteria.We show that the initial bacterial growth changes physio-chemical parameters of the ecosystem, which in turn trigger the initiation of the biofilm formation and guide its development, structure, and ultimately its decay and dispersion. Formation of the biofilm is just one of the possible outputs of the bacterial cybernetic system. It is not invariably the best response that fits all environmental needs. Viewing biofilm as a cybernetic set of interrelated objects, capable of receiving, storing, processing, and exchanging information with the rest of the ecosystem, should become an integral part of biofilm studies.

    Keywords: Bacillus subitilis, Cybernetic system, Systems view, regulation, Biofilms

    Received: 16 Sep 2024; Accepted: 21 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Blaznik and Stopar. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: David Stopar, Microbiology, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, 1000, Slovenia

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