A toxin-mediated policing system in Bacillus optimizes division of labor via penalizing cheater-like nonproducers.

ABSTRACT: Division of labor, where subpopulations perform complementary tasks simultaneously within an assembly, characterizes major evolutionary transitions of cooperation in certain cases. Currently, the mechanism and significance of mediating the interaction between different cell types during the division of labor, remain largely unknown. Here, we investigated the molecular mechanism and ecological function of a policing system for optimizing the division of labor in Bacillus velezensis SQR9. During biofilm formation, cells differentiated into the extracellular matrix (ECM)-producers and cheater-like nonproducers. ECM-producers were also active in the biosynthesis of genomic island-governed toxic bacillunoic acids (BAs) and self-resistance; while the nonproducers were sensitive to this antibioti

SUBMITTER: Huang R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10171868 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature