Manipulating bacterial cell fate: key role of surface-sensing and signal transduction

Confronted with the multitude of bacterial or fungal species which form biofilms within a complex consortium, the task of describing general mechanisms of surface perception and signal transduction is a difficult challenge. However, relying on the data acquired from the species most often studied in laboratory conditions, this chapter will try to bring to light some of the general mechanisms which allow bacteria to perceive that they are in the vicinity of a surface and to transmit this information to the genome, resulting in the appropriate biological response