title: Bacterial solutions to multicellularity: a tale of biofilms, filaments and fruiting bodies.
abstract: Although bacteria frequently live as unicellular organisms, many spend at least part of their lives in complex communities, and some have adopted truly multicellular lifestyles and have abandoned unicellular growth. These transitions to multicellularity have occurred independently several times for various ecological reasons, resulting in a broad range of phenotypes. In this Review, we discuss the strategies that are used by bacteria to form and grow in multicellular structures that have hallmark features of multicellularity, including morphological differentiation, programmed cell death and patterning. In addition, we examine the evolutionary and ecological factors that lead to the wide range of coordinated multicellular behaviours that are observed in bacteria.
authors.affiliation: 1] Molecular Biotechnology, Institute of Biology Leiden, Leiden University, Sylviusweg 72, P.O. Box 9502, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands. [2].
authors.forename: Dennis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Claessen
authors.affiliation: 1] Molecular Biotechnology, Institute of Biology Leiden, Leiden University, Sylviusweg 72, P.O. Box 9502, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands. [2].
authors.forename: Daniel E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Rozen
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Molecular Genetics, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, Linnaeusborg, Nijenborgh 7, 9747 AG, Groningen, The Netherlands. [2] Kluyver Center for Genomics of Industrial Fermentation, Nijenborgh 7, 9747 AG, Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Oscar P
authors.initials: OP
authors.lastname: Kuipers
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecophysiology, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Karl-von-Frisch Strasse 10, 35043, Marburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Lotte
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Søgaard-Andersen
authors.affiliation: Molecular Biotechnology, Institute of Biology Leiden, Leiden University, Sylviusweg 72, P.O. Box 9502, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Gilles P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: van Wezel
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis; D001419:Bacteria / Q000166:cytology / Q000254:growth & development*; D018407:Bacterial Physiological Phenomena; D018441:Biofilms / Q000254:growth & development*; D005075:Biological Evolution; D002455:Cell Division; D054338:Cell Transdifferentiation; D003599:Cytoskeleton; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013171:Spores, Bacterial