MutL Significantly Regulates the Formation of Biofilms in Bacillus amyloliquefaciens YT1
, Binghui Luan and Baoyou Liu *Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for Authors
Zhou et al investigated the regulatory role of the protein MutL in biofilm formation in Bacillus subtilis YT1.
There are few comments mentioned below
The abstract should always begin with a brief aim of the study, followed by a brief methodology, results, discussion, and conclusion. The current abstract is missing these segments
In the introduction section, Add maximum latest citations of 2023 -2024
Expand on the roles of specific biofilm components like TasA, EPS, and their respective operons
Write the role of Bacillus spp., such as its role in biocontrol and plant colonization with relevant references
List the main steps in biofilm formation or the critical components involved with relevant references
Mention the source of Microorganism used in the study …ATCC no. etc or other culture collection strain number.
Section 2.4. why The antib zone of inhibition was determined after 24 to 72 h of incubation. Mention exact time.
Why plates were incubated at 28 ℃….is this an optimum temperature, if yes provide optimization data. In section 2.2. 37 ℃ is mentioned?
What is the selction criteria of fungal strain used in the study
Fig. 1 and 2 image quality is very poor
Improve the quality of Figures 1 and 2. Label each panel (a, b, c, etc.) and rewrite the figure captions.
Compare and discuss results with findings from recent studies (2023-2024).
Manuscript language must be checked thoroughly and corrected by a professional expert or native English speaker.
Plagiarism should not be exceed than 10 percent.
Comments on the Quality of English Language
Minor editing of English language required
Author Response
Please see the attachment.
Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for Authors
The authors identified the MutL gene as a new factor involved in the biofilm formation in Bacillus subtilis YT1. The authors generated the mutL deletion mutant and genetically analyzed the effect of the mutL deletion. The mutL deletion mutant showed reduced biofilm formation and diminished colonization effectiveness on rice leaves. Further, the deletion of mutL affected the expression levels of various genes.
Although this manuscript includes interesting lines regarding biofilm formation, the authors do not present a clear mechanistic hypothesis as to why MutL would be involved in biofilm formation.
L165-166, “However, the mutant strain can grow and reproduce normally, without significant differences compared to the WT YT1 strain (Fig 2).”
Please quantify the number of cells over time and show the results.
Fig. 4 This figure needs to be scaled.
L189-190 “Although the maximum number of bacteria was similar between the two strains on the eighth day,”
Please show the results.
L191 “The amount of bacteria decreased from day nine to day twelve”
Please show the results.
Table 2. Representative photographs of each condition will, in my opinion, help the reader to understand the results.
Why would MutL be involved in biofilm formation?
Author Response
Please see the attachment.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Round 2
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for Authors
The authors edited the manuscript appropriately.
Author Response
Please see the attachment.
