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However, very little is known about the role of slow growth and dormancy in biofilm regulation. Here, we utilize tractable dormancy and aggregation assays in nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) to ask the fundamental question of how growth arrest impacts the processes of aggregation and dispersal. First, we show that the well-conserved dormancy regulator DosSR affects biofilm formation in\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">Mycobacterium smegmatis<\/jats:italic>\n                      , as a\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">dosR<\/jats:italic>\n                      deletion mutant undergoes spurious re-aggregation and dispersal during aerobic late stationary phase. Identification of a suppressor mutation blocking re-aggregation in the \u0394\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">dosR<\/jats:italic>\n                      mutant allowed us to determine a role for the antibiotic resistance factor WhiB7 in driving re-aggregation in\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">M. smegmatis<\/jats:italic>\n                      . We utilized\n                      <jats:underline>B<\/jats:underline>\n                      io\n                      <jats:underline>O<\/jats:underline>\n                      rthogonal\n                      <jats:underline>N<\/jats:underline>\n                      on\n                      <jats:underline>C<\/jats:underline>\n                      anonical\n                      <jats:underline>A<\/jats:underline>\n                      mino acid\n                      <jats:underline>T<\/jats:underline>\n                      agging (BONCAT), qPCR, and quantitative aggregation assays to build a model wherein reductive stress in \u0394\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">dosR<\/jats:italic>\n                      potentiates stationary phase translation in a WhiB7-dependent manner, permitting aggregation in dormant stationary phase cells. In addition, during stationary phase, WhiB7-activating reducing agents and antibiotics could trigger re-aggregation in both wild-type\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">M. smegmatis<\/jats:italic>\n                      and clinical isolates of the opportunistic NTM pathogen\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">Mycobacterium abscessus<\/jats:italic>\n                      . Finally, we determined that, in contrast to aerobic stationary phase,\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">M. smegmatis<\/jats:italic>\n                      does not aggregate or disperse in response to chemical cues or antibiotics under the Wayne model of hypoxic dormancy. Our work reveals a regulatory interaction between dormancy and aggregation that could have broad implications for treating and preventing NTM biofilms.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                    <jats:sec>\n                      <jats:title>IMPORTANCE<\/jats:title>\n                      <jats:p>\n                        Mycobacteria aggregate to form multicellular biofilms that provide protection from external stressors and increase antibiotic tolerance. Understanding the pathways regulating biofilm formation can aid the identification of useful targets for developing new drugs. With a growing appreciation that pathogens are often in a slow growth\/dormant state during infection, we investigate how dormancy affects biofilm formation and dispersal in two nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) species:\n                        <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">Mycobacterium smegmatis<\/jats:italic>\n                        and the opportunistic pathogen\n                        <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">Mycobacterium abscessus<\/jats:italic>\n                        . We find that activation of the WhiB7-mediated antibiotic response permits biofilm formation in aerobic stationary phase by reinitiating protein synthesis; however, cells under hypoxic dormancy are unresponsive. Our work provides important context to combatting biofilm formation in infection sites, informing future studies and aiding design of biofilm dispersal agents.\n                      <\/jats:p>\n                    <\/jats:sec>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1128\/jb.00076-26","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,22]],"date-time":"2026-06-22T12:00:31Z","timestamp":1782129631000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1128\/asmj-crossmark-policy-page","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Activation of the antibiotic resistance factor WhiB7 can stimulate aggregate biofilm formation in stationary phase\n                    <i>Mycobacterium smegmatis<\/i>\n                    by reinitiating translation"],"prefix":"10.1128","volume":"208","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6058-0738","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Mitchell 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