Nature.com July 07, 2026 • 15:36

Self-generated hydrogel ejects bacterial cells for localized biofilm dispersion - Nature

Self-generated hydrogel ejects bacterial cells for localized biofilm dispersion - Nature

Bacillus subtilis biofilms locally disperse by ejecting motile cells through osmotic pressure generated by their poly-γ-glutamic acid hydrogel, a mechanism resembling that through which Cnidaria eject nematocysts.

Bacterial strains
The B. subtilis strains used in this study are listed in Supplementary Table 1. The capBCAE deletion strain was created by amplifying the 5 arm and 3 arm fragments of the operon us… [+26528 chars]

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