The spatial and metabolic basis of colony size variation.

ABSTRACT: Spatial structure impacts microbial growth and interactions, with ecological and evolutionary consequences. It is therefore important to quantitatively understand how spatial proximity affects interactions in different environments. We tested how proximity influences colony size when either Escherichia coli or Salmonella enterica are grown on various carbon sources. The importance of colony location changed with species and carbon source. Spatially explicit, genome-scale metabolic modeling recapitulated observed colony size variation. Competitors that determine territory size, according to Voronoi diagrams, were the most important drivers of variation in colony size. However, the relative importance of different competitors changed through time. Further, the effect of location increased wh

SUBMITTER: Chacon JM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5864198 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature