A new study shows that when enough bacteria get together in
one place, they can make a collective decision to grow an appendage and swim
away. This type of behavior has been seen for the first time in marine sponges,
and could lead to an understanding of how to break up harmful bacterial
biofilms, such as plaque on teeth or those found on internal medical devices
like artificial heart valves.
Bacteria have ways of communicating with each other, and
scientists have now identified a new signaling system that, when there is a
critical mass of bacteria present, causes the bacteria to produce an appendage
known as a flagellum that moves like a corkscrew and gives them the ability to
swim away, inhibiting the formation of biofilm.