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Correction: Peptine et al. Methicillin-Resistant <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> (MRSA) and Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci (VRE) in Nosocomial Infections: A Systematic Review of Resistance, Pathogenesis, and Clinical Management. <i>Microorganisms</i> 2026, <i>14</i>, 428.

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Predatory Bacteria Select for Sustained Prey Diversity.

Ramith R Nair1,2, Gregory J Velicer2

  • 1Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Uppsala University, 75234 Uppsala, Sweden.

Microorganisms
|October 23, 2021
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Predatory bacteria like Myxococcus xanthus drive Escherichia coli to evolve diverse mucoid phenotypes. This microbial predation maintains prey diversity over evolutionary timescales, suggesting a broader impact on microbial communities.

Keywords:
MyxoEE-6antagonismbacterial predationexperimental evolutionmucoidynegative frequency dependencepredatory bacteriapretator-prey coevolutionprey diversity

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Area of Science:

  • Microbial Ecology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Predator-prey dynamics are crucial for maintaining biodiversity.
  • Microbial systems offer unique opportunities to study evolutionary timescales of diversity.
  • Previous work showed Escherichia coli evolving mucoid phenotypes against Myxococcus xanthus predation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the frequency dynamics of mucoid phenotypes in Escherichia coli under Myxococcus xanthus predation over evolutionary time.
  • To differentiate between hypotheses of mucoid fixation, stable equilibrium, or loss.
  • To understand the mechanisms maintaining minority mucoidy and the associated fitness trade-offs.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of mucoid frequencies across multiple time points of a coevolution experiment (MyxoEE-6).
  • Competition experiments between mucoid and non-mucoid Escherichia coli clones.
  • Genomic analysis to identify mutations associated with mucoidy.

Main Results:

  • Mucoid phenotypes rapidly increased early in the experiment, then fluctuated within minority frequencies, suggesting negative frequency-dependent selection.
  • A predation-specific advantage for mucoidy was observed, but its frequency-insensitivity left the maintenance mechanism unresolved.
  • Mucoidy was linked to a productivity-predation resistance trade-off and diverse mutations in the exopolysaccharide operon yjbEFGH.

Conclusions:

  • Bacterial predation by Myxococcus xanthus can generate stable phenotypic polymorphisms within prey populations.
  • Predation drives allopatric diversity by selecting for varied mutations and phenotypes associated with mucoidy.
  • Myxobacterial predation enhances long-term diversity in natural microbial communities.