Biased eviction of variant histone H3 nucleosomes triggers biofilm growth in .

lives as a commensal in most healthy humans but can cause superficial skin infections to life-threatening systemic infections. also forms biofilms on biotic and abiotic surfaces. Biofilm cells are difficult to treat and highly resistant to antifungals. A specific set of genes is differentially regulated in biofilm cells as compared to free-floating planktonic cells of . In this study, we addressed how a variant histone H3V, a previously identified negative regulator of biofilm formation, modulates gene expression changes. By providing compelling evidence, we show that biased eviction of H3V nucleosomes at the promoters of biofilm-relevant genes facilitates the accessibility of both transcription activators and repressors to modulate gene expression. Our study is a comprehensive investigation of genome-wide nucleosome occupancy in both planktonic and biofilm states, which reveals transition to an open chromatin landscape during biofilm mode of growth in , a medically relevant pathogen.