Biofilm Bacteria Use Stress Responses to Detect and Respond to Competitors.

ABSTRACT: Bacteria use complex regulatory networks to cope with stress, but the function of these networks in natural habitats is poorly understood. The competition sensing hypothesis states that bacterial stress response systems can serve to detect ecological competition, but studying regulatory responses in diverse communities is challenging. Here, we solve this problem by using differential fluorescence induction to screen the Salmonella Typhimurium genome for loci that respond, at the single-cell level, to life in biofilms with competing strains of S. Typhimurium and Escherichia coli. This screening reveals the presence of competing strains drives up the expression of genes associated with biofilm matrix production (CsgD pathway), epithelial invasion (SPI1 invasion system), and, finally, chemica

SUBMITTER: Lories B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7322538 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature