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Synthetic biology

A change of phase

Most engineered bacteria are designed to grow and function in a free-swimming state. A new method enables engineered bacteria to reversibly transition into a biofilm state.

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Fig. 1: Engineered transition between planktonic and biofilm phases.

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Correspondence to Lingchong You.

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Silver, A., You, L. A change of phase. Nat Chem Biol 19, 397–398 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41589-022-01209-x

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