Cross-talk mechanisms in biofilm formation and responses to environmental and physiological stress in Escherichia coli.

Switching from single-cell (planktonic) to biofilm growth (and vice versa) is regulated by a variety of environmental and physiological cues. Signals leading to activation of stress responses often lead to biofilm formation which, in turn, can trigger induction of stress response mechanisms, suggesting direct cross-talk between the two cellular processes. Regulatory mechanisms of this process include two-component regulatory systems, master regulators such as the rpoS gene and signal molecules such as cyclic-di-GMP, in a tight and complex interplay.