ArticleNature communications2020
The evolution of tit-for-tat in bacteria via the type VI secretion system.
Article in Nature communications, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 35 papers.
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Who cites it
35 citing papers in PubMed, 68 citations in OpenAlex.
- Repression of the Type VI Secretion System (T6SS) During Biofilm Formation Provides a Fitness Advantage forMicroorganisms · 2026Article
- Implications of proteome allocation constraints for understanding interbacterial antagonism.Microbiology (Reading, England) · 2026Review
- Type VI secretion system degeneration accelerates intestinal epithelial cell death in Escherichia coli O157:H7.PLoS pathogens · 2026Article
- Spatial structure: shaping the ecology and evolution of microbial communities.FEMS microbiology reviews · 2026Review
- Mechanisms of Pseudomonas aeruginosa resistance to type VI secretion system attacks.Nature communications · 2025Article
- TssW-PpkA-Fha axis controls the positioning and initiation of the type VI secretion system inmBio · 2025Article
- Article
- Multiplicity of type 6 secretion system toxins limits the evolution of resistance.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Individual-based modeling unravels spatial and social interactions in bacterial communities.The ISME journal · 2025Review
- Evaporation controls contact-dependent bacterial killing during surface-associated growth.ISME communications · 2025Article
- Genotype-associated core bacteria enhance host resistance against kiwifruit bacterial canker.Horticulture research · 2024Article
- Bacterial interactions on nutrient-rich surfaces in the gut lumen.Infection and immunity · 2024Review
- Resonant noise amplification in a predator-prey model with quasi-discrete generations.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Mechanisms of bacterial immunity, protection, and survival during interbacterial warfare.Cell host & microbe · 2024Review
- Cell motility empowers bacterial contact weapons.The ISME journal · 2024Article
- Community composition and the environment modulate the population dynamics of type VI secretion in human gut bacteria.Nature ecology & evolution · 2023Article
- The evolution of short- and long-range weapons for bacterial competition.Nature ecology & evolution · 2023Article
- Space and time on the membrane: modelling Type VI secretion system dynamics as a state-dependent random walk.Royal Society open science · 2023Article
- Tracking bacteria at high density with FAST, the Feature-Assisted Segmenter/Tracker.PLoS computational biology · 2023Article
- Bacterial defences: mechanisms, evolution and antimicrobial resistance.Nature reviews. Microbiology · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 5 institutions in 5 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Tit-for-tat is a familiar principle from animal behavior: individuals respond in kind to being helped or harmed by others. Remarkably some bacteria appear to display tit-for-tat behavior, but how this evolved is not understood. Here we combine evolutionary game theory with agent-based modelling of bacterial tit-for-tat, whereby cells stab rivals with poisoned needles (the type VI secretion system) after being stabbed themselves. Our modelling shows tit-for-tat retaliation is a surprisingly poor evolutionary strategy, because tit-for-tat cells lack the first-strike advantage of preemptive attackers. However, if cells retaliate strongly and fire back multiple times, we find that reciprocation is highly effective. We test our predictions by competing Pseudomonas aeruginosa (a tit-for-tat species) with Vibrio cholerae (random-firing), revealing that P. aeruginosa does indeed fire multiple times per incoming attack. Our work suggests bacterial competition has led to a particular form of reciprocation, where the principle is that of strong retaliation, or 'tits-for-tat'.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.