Kin discrimination drives territorial exclusion during Bacillus subtilis swarming and restrains exploitation of surfactin.

ABSTRACT: Swarming is the collective movement of bacteria across a surface. It requires the production of surfactants (public goods) to overcome surface tension and provides an excellent model to investigate bacterial cooperation. Previously, we correlated swarm interaction phenotypes with kin discrimination between B. subtilis soil isolates, by showing that less related strains form boundaries between swarms and highly related strains merge. However, how kin discrimination affects cooperation and territoriality in swarming bacteria remains little explored. Here we show that the pattern of surface colonization by swarming mixtures is influenced by kin types. Closely related strain mixtures colonize the surface in a mixed swarm, while mixtures of less related strains show competitive exclusion as onl

SUBMITTER: Kraigher B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8857193 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature