Evolution of hyperswarming bacteria could develop anti-biofilm therapies
Thursday, August 15, 2013 - 21:00
in Biology & Nature
Hyperswarming, pathogenic bacteria have repeatedly evolved in a lab, and the good news is that they should be less of a problem to us than their less mobile kin. That's because those hyperswarmers, adorned with multiple whipping flagella, are also much worse at sticking together on surfaces in hard-to-treat biofilms. They might even help us figure out a way to develop anti-biofilm therapies for use in people with cystic fibrosis or other conditions.