4 Year Wellcome Trust Programme: Mechanisms of biofilm formation

Biofilms are complex multicellular communities of bacteria that are involved in both chronic infection and beneficial processes. The project proposed here will investigate how the biofilm formed by the Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis is constructed. B.subtilis biofilms are waterproof because the cells make a ‘raincoat’ to protect them. We are looking for a student to join our lab and to study biofilm matrix assembly using a combination of biochemistry, microbial genetics and biophysics. Understanding the molecular process of biofilm matrix assembly is critical to the development of novel methodologies to disrupt biofilms.