{
  "id": 9655048,
  "title": "Sporulation modulates viscoelastic development through extracellular matrix restructuring in Bacillus subtilis biofilms",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/24/sporulation-modulates-viscoelastic-development-through-extracellular",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-09-24T00:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "bioRxiv",
    "slug": "biorxiv",
    "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.23.753867v1?rss=1"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Biofilms are communities of bacteria enclosed within a polymer matrix they secrete themselves. These biofilms display viscoelastic behavior, meaning they possess properties like elastic resilience and the ability to adapt viscosity. Many species that form biofilms also generate spores as a resilient subpopulation.\n\nIn Bacillus subtilis, both sporulation and matrix production are controlled by a shared gene pathway. This raises the question of how sporulation impacts the viscoelastic properties of biofilms. Understanding this relationship could help manage both beneficial and harmful biofilms, particularly by controlling their formation and dispersal.\n\nTo explore this, the study analyzes the relationship between sporulation and viscoelastic properties of B. subtilis biofilms with different levels of matrix and spore production. The findings reveal that the influence of sporulation on biofilm development is far more significant than that of matrix production. The physical development of biofilms is notably affected by the activation of sporulation via the spo0A regulation pathway.\n\nStrains that lack spores start out with biofilms that have robust physical properties and a specific recovery behavior. However, these spore-deficient biofilms do not sustain their physical characteristics over time. On the other hand, biofilms that produce spores, whether they are wild-type or have mutations in matrix production, exhibit more consistent physical properties.\n\nIn summary, the study shows that gene regulation at the cellular level corresponds to macroscopic mechanical changes within bacterial communities. The phenomenon of sporulation not only offers a survival advantage for individual cells but also contributes to the overall physical stability of the bacterial community.",
  "summary": "Biofilm formation--the establishment of cellular communities within a self-secreted polymer matrix--is a behavior exhibited by almost all species of bacteria. Bacterial biofilms are well described as viscoelastic materials, with properties that grant physical advantages, such as elastic resilience and viscous adaptability. Additionally, many biofilm-forming species produce a subpopulation of…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}