The natural habitat of B. subtilis is the soil, where it forms host-associated biofilms on plant roots and composes a part of the root’s rhizosphere. Bacillus biofilms play an important role in maintaining the optimal rhizosphere environment that supports the plant growth and protects it from fungal and bacterial infection. Our results demonstrate that dispersal is important for the survival of root-associated biofilms. In addition, we found that a unique metabolite produced by the root prevents the dispersal of bacterial biofilms from the central root towards lateral roots. We propose that the communications pathways uncovered by us can be manipulated to improve the symbiotic relationships between beneficial bacteria and the root.
