Widespread density dependence of bacterial growth under acid stress.

ABSTRACT: Many microbial phenotypes are density-dependent, including group-level phenotypes emerging from cooperation. However, surveys for the presence of a particular form of density dependence across diverse species are rare, as are direct tests for the Allee effect, i.e., positive density dependence of fitness. Here, we test for density-dependent growth under acid stress in five diverse bacterial species and find the Allee effect in all. Yet social protection from acid stress appears to have evolved by multiple mechanisms. In Myxococcus xanthus, a strong Allee effect is mediated by pH-regulated secretion of a diffusible molecule by high-density populations. In other species, growth from low density under acid stress was not enhanced by high-density supernatant. In M. xanthus, high

SUBMITTER: Fiegna F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10275722 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature