Lon Protease Has Multifaceted Biological Functions in .

is a Gram-negative opportunistic pathogen that is known to survive harsh environmental conditions and is a leading cause of hospital-acquired infections. Specifically, multicellular communities (known as biofilms) of can withstand desiccation and survive on hospital surfaces and equipment. Biofilms are bacteria embedded in a self-produced extracellular matrix composed of proteins, sugars, and/or DNA.