A Second Role for the Second Messenger Cyclic-di-GMP in E. coli: Arresting Cell Growth by Altering Metabolic Flow

The c-di-GMP signaling network in bacteria not only controls a variety of cellular processes such as motility, biofilms, cell development, and virulence, but does so by a dizzying array of mechanisms. The DGC YfiN singularly represents the versatility of this network in that it not only inhibits motility and promotes biofilms, but also arrests growth in Escherichia coli by relocating to the mid-cell and blocking cell division.