Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34180604›Full record

ArticleMicrobiologyOpen2021

Deletion of Rap-Phr systems in Bacillus subtilis influences in vitro biofilm formation and plant root colonization.

Mathilde Nordgaard, Rasmus Møller Rosenbek Mortensen, Nikolaj Kaae Kirk, Ramses Gallegos-Monterrosa, Ákos T Kovács

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in MicrobiologyOpen, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed
1.3field-weighted citation impact, top 20% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed, 18 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Journal of microbiology and biotechnology · 2026
    Article
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Biofilm · 2022
    Review
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Mathilde NordgaardBacterial Interactions and Evolution Group, DTU Bioengineering, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark.ORCID 0000-0003-0648-8978
Rasmus Møller Rosenbek MortensenBacterial Interactions and Evolution Group, DTU Bioengineering, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark.
Nikolaj Kaae KirkBacterial Interactions and Evolution Group, DTU Bioengineering, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark.
Ramses Gallegos-MonterrosaTerrestrial Biofilms Group, Institute of Microbiology, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Jena, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-2366-0912
Ákos T KovácsBacterial Interactions and Evolution Group, DTU Bioengineering, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark.ORCID 0000-0002-4465-1636
Technical University of Denmark · DKFriedrich Schiller University Jena · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Natural isolates of the soil-dwelling bacterium Bacillus subtilis form robust biofilms under laboratory conditions and colonize plant roots. B. subtilis biofilm gene expression displays phenotypic heterogeneity that is influenced by a family of Rap-Phr regulatory systems. Most Rap-Phr systems in B. subtilis have been studied independently, in different genetic backgrounds and under distinct conditions, hampering true comparison of the Rap-Phr systems' impact on bacterial cell differentiation. Here, we investigated each of the 12 Rap-Phr systems of B.subtilis NCIB 3610 for their effect on biofilm formation. By studying single ∆rap-phr mutants, we show that despite redundancy between the cell-cell communication systems, deletion of each of the 12 Rap-Phr systems influences matrix gene expression. These Rap-Phr systems therefore enable fine-tuning of the timing and level of matrix production in response to specific conditions. Furthermore, some of the ∆rap-phr mutants demonstrated altered biofilm formation in vitro and colonization of Arabidopsis thaliana roots, but not necessarily similarly in both processes, indicating that the pathways regulating matrix gene expression and other factors important for biofilm formation may be differently regulated under these distinct conditions.

Indexed as

ArabidopsisBacillus subtilisBacterial ProteinsBiofilmsGene DeletionGene Expression Regulation, BacterialPlant RootsBacterial ProteinsBacillus subtilisbiofilm formationmatrix gene expressionRap-Phrroot colonization

Identifiers

PMID34180604
PMCPMC8236291
OpenAlexW3175431044

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.