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Interspecies nutrient extraction and toxin delivery between bacteria.

ABSTRACT: Bacteria have developed various mechanisms by which they sense, interact, and kill other bacteria, in an attempt to outcompete one another and survive. Here we show that Bacillus subtilis can kill and prey on Bacillus megaterium. We find that Bacillus subtilis rapidly inhibits Bacillus megaterium growth by delivering the tRNase toxin WapA. Furthermore, utilizing the methionine analogue L-azidohomoalanine as a nutrient reporter, we provide evidence of nutrient extraction from Bacillus megaterium by Bacillus subtilis. Toxin delivery and nutrient extraction occur in a contact-dependent manner, and both activities are abolished in the absence of the phosphodiestrase YmdB, shown previously to mediate intercellular nanotube formation. Furthermore, we detect the localization of WapA molecules to nanotubes. Thus, we propose that Bacillus subtilis utilizes the same nanotube apparatus in a bidirectional manner, delivering toxin and acquiring beneficial cargo, thereby maximally exploiting potential niche resources.Bacteria can exchange nutrients and macromolecules through tubular membranous structures called nanotubes. Here, the authors show that Bacillus subtilis can kill and prey on Bacillus megaterium by delivering a toxin and extracting nutrients in a nanotube-dependent manner.

SUBMITTER: Stempler O

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5566331 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Interspecies nutrient extraction and toxin delivery between bacteria.

Stempler Ofer O Baidya Amit K AK Bhattacharya Saurabh S Malli Mohan Ganesh Babu GB Tzipilevich Elhanan E Sinai Lior L Mamou Gideon G Ben-Yehuda Sigal S

Nature communications 20170822 1

Bacteria have developed various mechanisms by which they sense, interact, and kill other bacteria, in an attempt to outcompete one another and survive. Here we show that Bacillus subtilis can kill and prey on Bacillus megaterium. We find that Bacillus subtilis rapidly inhibits Bacillus megaterium growth by delivering the tRNase toxin WapA. Furthermore, utilizing the methionine analogue L-azidohomoalanine as a nutrient reporter, we provide evidence of nutrient extraction from Bacillus megaterium ...[more]

PMID: 28827522

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Project description:Bacteria often live in complex communities in which they interact with other organisms. Consideration of the social environment of bacteria can reveal emergent traits and behaviors that would be overlooked by studying bacteria in isolation. Here we characterize a social trait which emerges upon interaction between the distantly related soil bacteria Pseudomonas fluorescens Pf0-1 and Pedobacter sp. strain V48. On hard agar, which is not permissive for motility of the monoculture of either species, coculture reveals an emergent phenotype that we term "interspecies social spreading," where the mixed colony spreads across the hard surface. We show that initiation of social spreading requires close association between the two species of bacteria. Both species remain associated throughout the spreading colony, with reproducible and nonhomogenous patterns of distribution. The nutritional environment influences social spreading: no social behavior is observed under high-nutrient conditions, but low-nutrient conditions are insufficient to promote social spreading without high salt concentrations. This simple two-species consortium is a tractable model system that will facilitate mechanistic investigations of interspecies interactions and provide insight into emergent properties of interacting species. These studies will contribute to the broader knowledge of how bacterial interactions influence the functions of communities they inhabit.IMPORTANCE The wealth of studies on microbial communities has revealed the complexity and dynamics of the composition of communities in many ecological settings. Fewer studies probe the functional interactions of the community members. Function of the community as a whole may not be fully revealed by characterizing the individuals. In our two-species model community, we find an emergent trait resulting from the interaction of the soil bacteria Pseudomonas fluorescens Pf0-1 and Pedobacter sp. V48. Observation of emergent traits suggests there may be many functions of a community that are not predicted based on a priori knowledge of the community members. These types of studies will provide a more holistic understanding of microbial communities, allowing us to connect information about community composition with behaviors determined by interspecific interactions. These studies increase our ability to understand communities, such as the soil microbiome, plant-root microbiome, and human gut microbiome, with the final goal of being able to manipulate and rationally improve these communities.

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Interspecies nutrient extraction and toxin delivery between bacteria.

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Interspecies nutrient extraction and toxin delivery between bacteria.

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