Environmental Viscosity Modulates Interbacterial Killing during Habitat Transition

作者：Lauren Speare, Stephanie Smith, Fernanda Salvato, Manuel Kleiner, Alecia N. Septer · 发表于：mBio · 年份：2020 · DOI：10.1128/mbio.03060-19 · 被引用次数：53 · 研究领域：Vibrio bacteria research studies、Bacterial biofilms and quorum sensing、Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation

Bacteria often engage in interference competition to gain access to an ecological niche, such as a host. However, little is known about how the physical environment experienced by free-living or host-associated bacteria influences such competition. We used the bioluminescent squid symbiont Vibrio fischeri to study how environmental viscosity impacts bacterial competition. Our results suggest that upon transition from a planktonic environment to a host-like environment, V. fischeri cells activate their type VI secretion system, a contact-dependent interbacterial nanoweapon, to eliminate natural competitors. This work shows that competitor cells form aggregates under host-like conditions, thereby facilitating the contact required for killing, and reveals how V. fischeri regulates a key competitive mechanism in response to the physical environment.