Cool 🦠
William Schmidt
Gerard Wong Lab @UCLA
Nature Microbiology
Pseudomonas aeruginosa lays down Psl exopolysaccharide as it crawls
Other cells detect and follow these trails using type IV pili pulling against adhesins like CdrA triggering c-di-GMP & cAMP surges to shift into early biofilm mode

Pseudomonas aeruginosa senses exopolysaccharide trails using type IV pili and adhesins during biofilm formation - Nature Microbiology
Opposing forces generated by exopolysaccharide trail binding versus type IV pilus retraction generate a high cyclic diGMP–high cyclic AMP state in Pseudomonas aeruginosa that promotes social motility.