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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Saikat Jana, Professor Stephen Rushton, Dr David Swailes, Professor Ben BridgensORCiD, Dr Jinju Chen
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
The production of extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) is important for the survival of biofilms. However, EPS production is costly for bacteria and the bacterial strains that produce EPS (EPS+) grow in the same environment as non-producers (EPS−) leading to competition between these strains for nutrients and space. The outcome of this competition is likely to be dependent on factors such as initial attachment, EPS production rate, ambient nutrient levels and quorum sensing. We use an Individual-based Model (IbM) to study the competition between EPS+ and EPS− strains by varying the nature of initial colonizers which can either be in the form of single cells or multicellular aggregates. The microbes with EPS+ characteristics obtain a competitive advantage if they initially colonize the surface as smaller aggregates and are widely spread-out between the cells of EPS−, when both are deposited on the substratum. Furthermore, the results show that quorum sensing-regulated EPS production may significantly reduce the fitness of EPS producers when they initially deposit as aggregates. The results provide insights into how the distribution of bacterial aggregates during initial colonization could be a deciding factor in the competition among different strains in biofilms.
Author(s): Jayathilake P, Jana S, Rushton S, Swailes D, Bridgens B, Curtis T, Chen J
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Frontiers in Microbiology
Year: 2017
Volume: 8
Pages: 1-14
Online publication date: 27/09/2017
Acceptance date: 12/09/2017
Date deposited: 27/09/2017
ISSN (electronic): 1664-302X
Publisher: Frontiers Research Foundation
URL: https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2017.01865
DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2017.01865
Data Access Statement: http://dx.doi.org/10.17634/123172-2
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