Figure 1.

A representation of the bacterial biofilm life cycle, from the point at which free-floating planktonic cells attach to a substrate or surface, to adhesion, to proliferation and microcolony formation, through to growth and maturation and subsequent dispersal, propagating and beginning the life cycle once more. There are many existing and proposed strategies for targeting biofilm grown organisms, from direct action on the bacteria themselves, to the extracellular matrix, to intracellular signaling pathways, to the disruption of cell-to-cell signaling. Figure created in BioRender.com.