ArticleScientific reports2017
Phase and antigenic variation govern competition dynamics through positioning in bacterial colonies.
Article in Scientific reports, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers.
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Who cites it
26 citing papers in PubMed.
- The role of extracellular DNA inJournal of bacteriology · 2026Review
- Neisseria subflava Type 6 Secretion System competition with bacterial and fungal species.Applied microbiology and biotechnology · 2026Article
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- Phenotypic Characterization ofAntibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
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- Pilin antigenic variants impact gonococcal lifestyle and antibiotic tolerance by modulating interbacterial forces.PLoS biology · 2025Article
- Fim3-dependent autoagglutination of Bordetella pertussis.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Effectiveness of Pseudomonas aeruginosa type VI secretion system relies on toxin potency and type IV pili-dependent interaction.PLoS pathogens · 2023Article
- Impact of crowding on the diversity of expanding populations.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2023Article
- Collective polarization dynamics in bacterial colonies signify the occurrence of distinct subpopulations.PLoS biology · 2023Article
- Article
- Population Dynamics of a Two Phages-One Host Infection System UsingPharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- In Vitro Analysis of Matched Isolates from Localized and Disseminated Gonococcal Infections Suggests That Opa Expression Impacts Clinical Outcome.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Review
- Neisseria gonorrhoeae subverts formin-dependent actin polymerization to colonize human macrophages.PLoS pathogens · 2021Article
- Spatiotemporal dynamics of growth and death within spherical bacterial colonies.Biophysical journal · 2021Article
- Type VI secretion system killing by commensaleLife · 2021Article
- Antibiotics modulate attractive interactions in bacterial colonies affecting survivability under combined treatment.PLoS pathogens · 2021Article
- Role of the Gonococcal Neisserial Heparin Binding Antigen in Microcolony Formation, and Serum Resistance and Adherence to Epithelial Cells.The Journal of infectious diseases · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Cellular positioning towards the surface of bacterial colonies and biofilms can enhance dispersal, provide a selective advantage due to increased nutrient and space availability, or shield interior cells from external stresses. Little is known about the molecular mechanisms that govern bacterial positioning. Using the type IV pilus (T4P) of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, we tested the hypothesis that the processes of phase and antigenic variation govern positioning and thus enhance bacterial fitness in expanding gonococcal colonies. By independently tuning growth rate and T4P-mediated interaction forces, we show that the loss of T4P and the subsequent segregation to the front confers a strong selective advantage. Sequencing of the major pilin gene of the spatially segregated sub-populations and an investigation of the spatio-temporal population dynamics was carried out. Our findings indicate that pilin phase and antigenic variation generate a standing variation of pilin sequences within the inoculation zone, while variants associated with a non-piliated phenotype segregate to the front of the growing colony. We conclude that tuning of attractive forces by phase and antigenic variation is a powerful mechanism for governing the dynamics of bacterial colonies.
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