Swim or chill: Lifestyles of a bacillus

Abstract

Bacillus subtilis exhibits a number of lifestyles, each characterized by a distinguishing pattern of gene expression. In this issue of Genes & Development, Chai and colleagues (pp. 754-765) dissect the decision-making processes underlying the switch between the motile and sessile states of B. subtilis, and show a role for a double-negative feedback loop that locks the system into the sessile state. These findings are discussed in the context of the natural history and of other lifestyle decisions faced by this model organism. © 2010 by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.