Abstract
Background: Archaea share a similar microbial lifestyle with bacteria, and not surprisingly then, also exist within
matrix-enclosed communities known as biofilms. Advances in biofilm biology have been made over decades for
model bacterial species, and include characterizations of social behaviors and cellular differentiation during biofilm
development. Like bacteria, archaea impact ecological and biogeochemical systems. However, the biology of
archaeal biofilms is only now being explored. Here, we investigated the development, composition and dynamics
of biofilms formed by the haloarchaeon Haloferax volcanii DS2.