Indirect enrichment of desirable, but less fit phenotypes, from a synthetic microbial community using microdroplet confinement.

ABSTRACT: Spatial structure within microbial communities can provide nearly limitless opportunities for social interactions and are an important driver for evolution. As metabolites are often molecular signals, metabolite diffusion within microbial communities can affect the composition and dynamics of the community in a manner that can be challenging to deconstruct. We used encapsulation of a synthetic microbial community within microdroplets to investigate the effects of spatial structure and metabolite diffusion on population dynamics and to examine the effects of cheating by one member of the community. The synthetic community was comprised of three strains: a 'Producer' that makes the diffusible quorum sensing molecule ( N -(3-Oxododecanoyl)-L-homoserine lactone, C12-oxo-HSL) or AHL; a '

SUBMITTER: Prabhakar RG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9882018 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature