ArticleCell2022
A segmentation clock patterns cellular differentiation in a bacterial biofilm.
Article in Cell, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 35 papers.
What it found
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The trial behind it
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Who cites it
35 citing papers in PubMed, 64 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Bacillus subtilis circadian clock coordinates intricate spatiotemporal organisation.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Growth-dependent sensory bet-hedging enhances collective navigation.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Construction of a Mutant Library ofMicroorganisms · 2026Article
- An agent-based model of metabolic signaling oscillations in Bacillus subtilis biofilms.PLoS computational biology · 2025Article
- Single-cell lysis patterns morphogenesis of eDNA in the matrix ofProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Tissue-wide, synchronous Erk oscillations time the segmentation of the zebrafish notochord.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- A promiscuous Bcd amino acid dehydrogenase promotes biofilm development in Bacillus subtilis.NPJ biofilms and microbiomes · 2025Article
- Spatiotemporal development of expanding bacterial colonies driven by emergent mechanical constraints and nutrient gradients.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Colony pattern multistability emerges from a bistable switch.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Persistent glucose consumption under antibiotic treatment protects bacterial community.Nature chemical biology · 2025Article
- Intrinsically robust and scalable biofilm segmentation under diverse physical growth conditions.iScience · 2024Article
- Biofilms as more than the sum of their parts: lessons from developmental biology.Current opinion in microbiology · 2024Review
- Real-time high-resolution microscopy reveals how single-cell lysis shapes biofilm matrix morphogenesis.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
- From resonance to chaos by modulating spatiotemporal patterns through a synthetic optogenetic oscillator.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Collective intelligence: A unifying concept for integrating biology across scales and substrates.Communications biology · 2024Review
- MOB rules: Antibiotic Exposure Reprograms Metabolism to MobilizebioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
- Genomic Island-Encoded Diguanylate Cyclase fromMicroorganisms · 2023Article
- Active oscillations in microscale navigation.Animal cognition · 2023Review
- Redox signaling-driven modulation of microbial biosynthesis and biocatalysis.Nature communications · 2023Article
- Spatial heterogeneity in biofilm metabolism elicited by local control of phenazine methylation.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Contrary to multicellular organisms that display segmentation during development, communities of unicellular organisms are believed to be devoid of such sophisticated patterning. Unexpectedly, we find that the gene expression underlying the nitrogen stress response of a developing Bacillus subtilis biofilm becomes organized into a ring-like pattern. Mathematical modeling and genetic probing of the underlying circuit indicate that this patterning is generated by a clock and wavefront mechanism, similar to that driving vertebrate somitogenesis. We experimentally validated this hypothesis by showing that predicted nutrient conditions can even lead to multiple concentric rings, resembling segments. We additionally confirmed that this patterning mechanism is driven by cell-autonomous oscillations. Importantly, we show that the clock and wavefront process also spatially patterns sporulation within the biofilm. Together, these findings reveal a biofilm segmentation clock that organizes cellular differentiation in space and time, thereby challenging the paradigm that such patterning mechanisms are exclusive to plant and animal development.
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Registered trials
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.