Can't you hear me knocking: contact-dependent competition and cooperation in bacteria.

ABSTRACT: Microorganisms are in constant competition for growth niches and environmental resources. In Gram-negative bacteria, contact-dependent growth inhibition (CDI) systems link the fate of one cell with its immediate neighbor through touch-dependent, receptor-mediated toxin delivery. Though discovered for their ability to confer a competitive growth advantage, CDI systems also play significant roles in inter-sibling cooperation, promoting both auto-aggregation and biofilm formation. In this review, we detail the mechanisms of CDI toxin delivery and consider how toxin exchange between isogenic sibling cells could regulate gene expression.

SUBMITTER: Jones AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5659313 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature