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Nutrient-responsive regulation determines biodiversity in a colicin-mediated bacterial community

Overview of attention for article published in BMC Biology, August 2014
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Title
Nutrient-responsive regulation determines biodiversity in a colicin-mediated bacterial community
Published in
BMC Biology, August 2014
DOI 10.1186/s12915-014-0068-2
Pubmed ID
Authors

Felix JH Hol, Mathias J Voges, Cees Dekker, Juan E Keymer

Abstract

BackgroundAntagonistic interactions mediated by antibiotics are strong drivers of bacterial community dynamics which shape biodiversity. Colicin production by Escherichia coli is such an interaction that governs intraspecific competition and is involved in promoting biodiversity. It is unknown how environmental cues affect regulation of the colicin operon and thus influence antibiotic-mediated community dynamics.ResultsHere, we investigate the community dynamics of colicin-producing, -sensitive, and -resistant/non-producer E. coli strains that colonize a microfabricated spatially-structured habitat. Nutrients are found to strongly influence community dynamics: when growing on amino acids and peptides, colicin-mediated competition is intense and the three strains do not coexist unless spatially separated at large scales (millimeters). Surprisingly, when growing on sugars, colicin-mediated competition is minimal and the three strains coexist at the micrometer scale. Carbon storage regulator A (CsrA) is found to play a key role in translating the type of nutrients into the observed community dynamics by controlling colicin release. We demonstrate that by mitigating lysis, CsrA shapes the community dynamics and determines whether the three strains coexist. Indeed, a mutant producer that is unable to suppress colicin release, causes the collapse of biodiversity in media that would otherwise support co-localized growth of the three strains.ConclusionsOur results show how the environmental regulation of an antagonistic trait shapes community dynamics. We demonstrate that nutrient-responsive regulation of colicin release by CsrA, determines whether colicin producer, resistant non-producer, and sensitive strains coexist at small spatial scales, or whether the sensitive strain is eradicated. This study highlights how molecular-level regulatory mechanisms that govern interference competition give rise to community-level biodiversity patterns.

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Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
United States 1 2%
France 1 2%
Germany 1 2%
Brazil 1 2%
Unknown 57 93%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Student > Ph. D. Student 24 39%
Student > Postgraduate 7 11%
Student > Master 6 10%
Professor 5 8%
Researcher 5 8%
Other 10 16%
Unknown 4 7%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Agricultural and Biological Sciences 27 44%
Physics and Astronomy 10 16%
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology 5 8%
Environmental Science 3 5%
Immunology and Microbiology 2 3%
Other 8 13%
Unknown 6 10%