Evolution of Ecological Diversity in Biofilms of Pseudomonas aeruginosa by Altered Cyclic Diguanylate Signaling.

ABSTRACT:

Unlabelled

The ecological and evolutionary forces that promote and maintain diversity in biofilms are not well understood. To quantify these forces, three Pseudomonas aeruginosa populations were experimentally evolved from strain PA14 in a daily cycle of attachment, assembly, and dispersal for 600 generations. Each biofilm population evolved diverse colony morphologies and mutator genotypes defective in DNA mismatch repair. This diversity enhanced population fitness and biofilm output, owing partly to rare, early colonizing mutants that enhanced attachment of others. Evolved mutants exhibited various levels of the intracellular signal cyclic-di-GMP, which associated with their timing of adherence. Manipulating cyclic-di-GMP levels within individual mutants revealed a network of int

SUBMITTER: Flynn KM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5019052 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature