“Biofilm formation by Bacillus subtilis is triggered by an unusually simple environmental sensing mechanism. … In this study, we designed an algorithm to score all protein-coding genes in B. subtilis. … We generated a short list of 50 genes that could be subject to regulation by this novel mechanism. We further investigated one such gene from the list, sda, which encodes a developmental checkpoint protein regulating both sporulation and biofilm formation. We showed that synonymously switching the TCN serine codons to AGC in sda led to delayed biofilm formation and sporulation.”

Find the paper and authors list in the Journal of Bacteriology.