Should I Stay or Should I Go? Pseudomonas Just Can’t Decide

Surface sensing is a fundamental yet poorly understood behavior of swimming bacteria. In this issue of Cell Host & Microbe, Laventie et al. (2019) Laventie B.J. Sangermani M. Estermann F. Manfredi P. Planes R. Hug I. Jaeger T. Meunier E. Broz P. Jenal U. A surface-induced asymmetric program promotes tissue colonization by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Cell Host Microbe. 2019; 25 ( this issue) : 140-152 Google Scholar describe a cyclic-di-GMP-dependent pathway used by the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa to respond to surface binding on a several second timescale