Mechanics of biofilms: Sacrifice of the few for the benefit of the many

Suicide allows bacteria found in opportunistic infections to create an antibiotic tolerant biofilm, according to a team of researchers. In new work, the scientists found that a molecule secreted by the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa causes a breakdown in the respiratory chain, killing some of the population and triggering the creation of a biofilm among survivors, and thus conferring increased tolerance to antibiotics.