Biofilm formation and bacteriocinogeny as manifestation of bacterial stigmergy

Abstract

The term «stigmergy» was introduced by French entomologist Pierre-Paul Grasse to describe the behavior of termites during the construction of termite colonies. The principle of stigmergy describes self-organized phenomena that arise as a result of mediated communication between individuals in a group through the generation of constant signals to the external environment. However, the application of the concept of stigmergy to describe the collective behaviour of bacteria has only recently been proposed.