Stochastic assembly produces heterogeneous communities in the Caenorhabditis elegans intestine.

ABSTRACT: Host-associated bacterial communities vary extensively between individuals, but it can be very difficult to determine the sources of this heterogeneity. Here, we demonstrate that stochastic bacterial community assembly in the Caenorhabditis elegans intestine is sufficient to produce strong interworm heterogeneity in community composition. When worms are fed with two neutrally competing, fluorescently labeled bacterial strains, we observe stochastically driven bimodality in community composition, in which approximately half of the worms are dominated by each bacterial strain. A simple model incorporating stochastic colonization suggests that heterogeneity between worms is driven by the low rate at which bacteria successfully establish new intestinal colonies. We can increase this rate exper

SUBMITTER: Vega NM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5336226 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature