Antibiotics role in modulating biofilm formation

At sub-minimum inhibitory concentrations (sub-MICs), antibiotics exert a range of physiological effects on bacteria, with modulation of biofilm formation being one of the most prevalent and significant. 

Natural antibiotics that modulate biofilm formation within their own antibiotic producing community can be seen as cooperative signals, as this modulation is expected to benefit the community itself.

Stimulation of biofilm formation is a predominant effect of sub-MIC doses of exogenous antibiotics, with these drugs typically causing stress, which leads to stress responses that promote extracellular matrix (ECM) synthesis.

The ECM is the hub where mechanisms of sub-MIC antibiotic levels promoting or inhibiting biofilm formation converge. Antibiotics that bypass stress responses by targeting the assembly of ECM components (e.g., amyloids) could function as inhibitors rather than inducers of biofilm formation.

https://www.cell.com/trends/microbiology/fulltext/S0966-842X(24)00327-5

https://sciencemission.com/antibiotics-modulating-biofilm-formation