ArticleThe ISME journal2022
Complex extracellular biology drives surface competition during colony expansion in Bacillus subtilis.
Article in The ISME journal, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers.
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Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed.
- Synthetic microbial communities for studying the fate and ecological role of specialized metabolites.Essays in biochemistry · 2026Review
- The Bacillus subtilis circadian clock coordinates intricate spatiotemporal organisation.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Metabolite interactions mediate beneficial alliances between Bacillus and Trichoderma for effective Fusarium wilt control.The ISME journal · 2026Article
- Modulating Surfactin Biosynthesis in Bacillus subtilis R31 Enhances Behavioural Traits and Biocontrol Efficacy Against Banana Fusarium Wilt.Microbial biotechnology · 2025Article
- Antibiofilm Activity of the Marine Probiotic Bacillus subtilis C3 Against the Aquaculture-Relevant Pathogen Vibrio harveyi.Probiotics and antimicrobial proteins · 2025Article
- Surfactin acceleratesBiofilm · 2025Article
- Novel two-stage expansion of Streptococcus mutans biofilm supports EPS-targeted prevention strategies for early childhood caries.NPJ biofilms and microbiomes · 2025Article
- Plipastatin is a shared good by Bacillus subtilis during combating Fusarium spp.FEMS microbiology ecology · 2025Article
- Surfactin facilitates establishment of Bacillus subtilis in synthetic communities.The ISME journal · 2025Article
- Subtilosin A production is influenced by surfactin levels inmicroLife · 2025Article
- Deciphering microbial spatial organization: insights from synthetic and engineered communities.ISME communications · 2025Review
- Enhanced surface colonisation and competition during bacterial adaptation to a fungus.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Mechanics limits ecological diversity and promotes heterogeneity in confined bacterial communities.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2024Article
- Integrative analysis of yeast colony growth.Communications biology · 2024Article
- Nonkin interactions between Bacillus subtilis soil isolates limit the spread of swarming deficient cheats.The ISME journal · 2024Article
- Competition for iron shapes metabolic antagonism between Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas marginalis.The ISME journal · 2024Article
- SOCfinder: a genomic tool for identifying social genes in bacteria.Microbial genomics · 2023Article
- Iron acquisition by a commensal bacterium modifies host nutritional immunity during Salmonella infection.Cell host & microbe · 2023Article
- Signatures of kin selection in a natural population of the bacteriaEvolution letters · 2023Article
- Bacillus subtilis extracellular protease production incurs a context-dependent cost.Molecular microbiology · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Many bacteria grow on surfaces in nature, where they form cell collectives that compete for space. Within these collectives, cells often secrete molecules that benefit surface spreading by, for example, reducing surface tension or promoting filamentous growth. Although we have a detailed understanding of how these molecules are produced, much remains unknown about their role in surface competition. Here we examine sliding motility in Bacillus subtilis and compare how secreted molecules, essential for sliding, affect intraspecific cooperation and competition on a surface. We specifically examine (i) the lipopeptide surfactin, (ii) the hydrophobin protein BslA, and (iii) exopolysaccharides (EPS). We find that these molecules have a distinct effect on surface competition. Whereas surfactin acts like a common good, which is costly to produce and benefits cells throughout the surface, BslA and EPS are cost-free and act locally. Accordingly, surfactin deficient mutants can exploit the wild-type strain in competition for space, while BslA and EPS mutants cannot. Supported by a mathematical model, we show that three factors are important in predicting the outcome of surface competition: the costs of molecule synthesis, the private benefits of molecule production, and the diffusion rate. Our results underscore the intricate extracellular biology that can drive bacterial surface competition.
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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.