title: Sensational biofilms: surface sensing in bacteria.
abstract: The first step in the development of a bacterial biofilm is contact with the surface on which the microbe will form this community. We review recent progress on 'surface sensing', and engage the question of 'how does a microbe know it is on a surface?'
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, NH, United States. Electronic address: georgeo@dartmouth.edu.
authors.forename: George A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: O'Toole
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, United States; Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, United States; California Nano Systems Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, United States. Electronic address: gclwong@seas.ucla.edu.
authors.forename: Gerard Cl
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Wong
mesh_terms: D018441:Biofilms; D009712:Nucleotides, Cyclic / Q000378:metabolism; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D053038:Quorum Sensing
chemical_list: D009712:Nucleotides, Cyclic