TABLE 1.

Overview of factors involved in the different stages of biofilm formation for the bacterial pathogens V. cholerae, P. aeruginosa, S. aureus and S. epidermidis discussed in this article. For details we kindly refer to the text (see chapter “Bacterial biofilm formation and composition”).

stage in biofilm formation	bacterial pathogen
	V. cholerae	P. aeruginosa	S. aureus/epidermidis
attachment	flagella motility, type IV pili, adhesins and chitin-binding factors (e.g. GbpA, ChiRP, FrhA, CraA)	flagella/twiching motility, type IV pili, Cup fimbrial adhesins and lectins	hydrophobic surface, teichoic acids, adhesins (e.g. Atl, Bap, MSCRAMMs, SERAMs)
maturation	exopolysaccharide (VPS), eDNA, proteinaceous factors (RbmA, RbmC, Bap1), lipids	exopolysaccharide (alginate, Psl, Pel), eDNA, proteinaceous factors (e.g. CdrA, LecA/B), rhamnolipids	exopolysaccharide (PIA), eDNA, proteinaceous factors [e.g. SasG, Aap, and other adhesins (see above)], teichoic acids
detachment	nucleases (Dns and Xds), proteases, predicted sugar lyase (RbmD)	Alginate lyase, rhamnolipids, cell lysis	exoproteases (e.g. SspA/Esp, SspN/SepA, SplA-F, ScpA)