Bacteria Talk, Compete and Sacrifice Each Other: Inside My PhD on C. difficile
Bacteria are far more social than they first appear. During my PhD, I explored how Clostridioides difficile forms protective biofilm communities, how chemical signals produced through LuxS may help coordinate this behaviour, and how interactions with other gut bacteria can determine whether it thrives or fails. The results led to an unexpected story involving bacterial communication, competition — and even viruses hidden inside bacterial genomes.