Tug of war among bacteria

As hide-outs for bacteria, biofilms cause problems for antibiotic treatment or the cleaning of medical tubes. They contribute to the spreading of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains. A biofilm is created when bacteria attach to surfaces and multiply. Gradually, bacterial subpopulations can develop different properties although they originated from the same cell. However, very little is known about how this heterogeneity contributes to the development of structure in such biofilms

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