ABSTRACT
Most bacteria can live either as free-living individual cells (planktonic) or as part of a sessile community, commonly referred to as biofi lm. These two different lifestyles confer distinct advantages: motility allows bacteria to rapidly reach and colonize new niches, whereas microorganisms in biofi lms demonstrate intrinsic resistance to unfavourable environmental conditions. What makes bacteria decide between sessile and motile lifestyles is an area of intense research, particularly in clinically relevant pathogenic bacteria that cause infections often problematic due to antibiotic-resistant biofi lms. However, the choice between motility and biofi lm formation may be a general modus operandi among microorganisms that live in varying environments like plant mutualistic rhizobia.
