Cross-talk mechanisms between biofilm formation and response to environmental and physiological stresses in Escherichia coli

Switch between 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 presiding to 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.