Biofilm Structure Promotes Coexistence of Phage-Resistant and Phage-Susceptible Bacteria.

ABSTRACT: Encounters among bacteria and their viral predators (bacteriophages) are among the most common ecological interactions on Earth. These encounters are likely to occur with regularity inside surface-bound communities that microbes most often occupy in natural environments. Such communities, termed biofilms, are spatially constrained: interactions become limited to near neighbors, diffusion of solutes and particulates can be reduced, and there is pronounced heterogeneity in nutrient access and physiological state. It is appreciated from prior theoretical work that phage-bacteria interactions are fundamentally different in spatially structured contexts, as opposed to well-mixed liquid culture. Spatially structured communities are predicted to promote the protection of susceptible host cells fr

SUBMITTER: Simmons EL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7311319 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature