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Monitoring Spatial Segregation in Surface Colonizing Microbial Populations
Published on: October 29, 2016
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Spatial-temporal dynamics of a microbial cooperative behavior resistant to cheating
Hilary Monaco1,2,3, Kevin S Liu4,5, Tiago Sereno6,7
1Tri-Institutional PhD Program in Computational Biology and Medicine, New York, NY, USA. htm24@cornell.edu.
Nature Communications
|February 8, 2022
Summary
Spatial structure in bacterial communities, unlike liquid cultures, impacts cooperative behaviors. Pseudomonas aeruginosa rhamnolipid production is linked to growth rate and quorum signals in colonies, preserving cooperation.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Bacterial Ecology
- Systems Biology
Background:
- Bacterial behavior is often studied in liquid cultures, but in nature, bacteria form spatially structured communities.
- Understanding how spatial structure influences cooperative behaviors, such as virulence factor production, is crucial for bacterial ecology.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effect of spatial structure on cooperative behavior in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
- To determine how rhamnolipid gene expression and cooperation are affected by colony growth rate and quorum signals in structured environments.
Main Methods:
- Studied Pseudomonas aeruginosa in spatially structured colonies and compared to liquid cultures.
- Analyzed rhamnolipid gene expression in relation to colony growth rate and response to quorum signals.
- Developed a data-driven statistical inference model to capture bacterial interaction length-scales over time.
Main Results:
- Rhamnolipid gene expression in spatially structured colonies is strongly associated with colony-specific growth rate.
- Gene expression is impacted by perturbation with diffusible quorum signals, unlike in well-mixed cultures.
- Perturbation of P. aeruginosa swarms with quorum signals preserves the cooperating genotype against potential cheaters.
Conclusions:
- Spatial structure significantly influences bacterial cooperative behaviors, contrasting with findings from liquid cultures.
- The interplay between spatial localization, growth rate, and quorum sensing is key to maintaining bacterial cooperation.
- Quorum signals in structured environments protect cooperative genotypes, highlighting the ecological importance of spatial organization.
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