Fitness Trade-Offs in Competence Differentiation of Bacillus subtilis.

ABSTRACT: In the stationary phase, Bacillus subtilis differentiates stochastically and transiently into the state of competence for transformation (K-state). The latter is associated with growth arrest, and it is unclear how the ability to develop competence is stably maintained, despite its cost. To quantify the effect differentiation has on the competitive fitness of B. subtilis, we characterized the competition dynamics between strains with different probabilities of entering the K-state. The relative fitness decreased with increasing differentiation probability both during the stationary phase and during outgrowth. When exposed to antibiotics inhibiting cell wall synthesis, transcription, and translation, cells that differentiated into the K-state showed a selective advantage compared to differe

SUBMITTER: Yuksel M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4896167 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature