The role of Acinetobacter baumannii response regulator BfmR in pellicle formation and competitiveness via contact-dependent inhibition system.

The obtained results indicate that BfmR is not only required for the pellicle phenotype induction in A. baumannii, but also, due to the down-regulation of a CDI system, could allow the incorporation of other A. baumannii strains or related species, possibly increasing the likelihood of the pathogens' survival.