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Abstract
Interspecific competition in bacteria governs colony growth dynamics and pattern formation. Here, we demonstrate an interesting phenomenon of interspecific competition between Bacillus cereus MSM-S1 and Pseudomonas sp. MSM-M1, where secretion of an inhibitor by Pseudomonas sp. is used as a strategy for survival. Although B. cereus grows faster than Pseudomonas sp., in the presence of Pseudomonas sp. the population of B. cereus reduces significantly, whereas Pseudomonas sp. do not show any marked alteration in their population growth. Appearance of a zone of inhibition between growing colonies of two species on nutrient agar prevents the expanding front of the MSM-S1 colony from accessing and depleting nutrients in the region occupied by MSM-M1, thereby aiding the survival of the slower growing MSM-M1 colonies. To support our experimental results, we present simulations, based on a chemotactic model of colony growth dynamics. We demonstrate that the chemical(s) secreted by Pseudomonas sp. is responsible for the observed inhibition of growth and spatial pattern of the B. cereus MSM-S1 colony. Our experimental results are in excellent agreement with the numerical results and confirm that secreted inhibitors enable Pseudomonas sp. to survive and coexist in the presence of faster growing B. cereus, in a common niche.
Highlights
Ecology is a scientific study pertaining to the relationship between living organisms and their environment
We present a mathematical model based on the reaction–diffusion equation, which can be used as a general model to study interspecific competition to demonstrate the interplay between cell concentration and movement, availability of resources and the production and function of secreted inhibitors
We examine how a slower growing bacterial species can survive being outcompeted by a faster growing competitor belonging to a taxonomically unrelated strain, when both inhabit the same ecological niche
Summary
Ecology is a scientific study pertaining to the relationship between living organisms and their environment. Bacteria have evolved to cope with the changes in both biotic and abiotic environments. They have developed complex strategies [3,4,5,6,7] to thrive in hostile conditions that may be characterized by limited nutrients, the presence of toxic chemicals, competing species, predators and changes in temperature. Individuals of similar and different species of bacteria can facilitate each other by employing cooperative strategies [8]. A fundamental problem in ecology lies in unravelling the strategies by which different organisms can continue to ‘coexist’ while competing for limited resources. In the case involving Parus sp., where five bird species live within English broad-leaved woodlands, coexistence involves competition [10]
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