Flagella are required to coordinately activate competition and host colonization factors in response to a mechanical signal.

ABSTRACT: Bacteria employ antagonistic strategies to eliminate competitors of an ecological niche. Contact-dependent mechanisms, such as the type VI secretion system (T6SS), are prevalent in host-associated bacteria, yet we know relatively little about how T6SS+ strains make contact with competitors in highly viscous environments, such as host mucus. To better understand how cells respond to and contact one another in such environments, we performed a genome-wide transposon mutant screen of the T6SS-wielding beneficial bacterial symbiont, Vibrio fischeri, and identified two sets of genes that are conditionally required for killing. LPS/capsule and flagellar-associated genes do not affect T6SS directly and are therefore not required for interbacterial killing when cell contact is forced yet ar

SUBMITTER: Speare L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10802311 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature