Cannibals Defy Starvation and Avoid Sporulation

Abstract
When faced with declining nutrients, many bacteria enter sporulation so that their spores can be distributed to other areas that may be nutrient-rich. In their Perspective, Engelberg-Kulka and Hazan discuss a fascinating new study ( González-Pastor et al.) revealing that in Bacillus subtilis a subpopulation of bacterial cells avoid sporulation by inducing some of their comrades to die and then feeding on the released nutrients.