20.500.12556/RUL-142201 Kin discrimination modifies strain distribution, spatial segregation, and incorporation of extracellular matrix polysaccharide mutants of Bacillus subtilis strains into mixed floating biofilms Microorganisms in nature form multicellular groups called biofilms. In biofilms, bacteria embedded in the extracellular matrix (ECM) interact intensely due to their proximity. Most studies have investigated genetically homogeneous biofilms, leaving a gap in knowledge on genetically heterogeneous biofilms. Recent insights show that a Gram-positive model bacterium, Bacillus subtilis, discriminates between strains of high (kin) and low (nonkin) genetic similarity, reflected in merging (kin) and boundaries (nonkin) between swarms. However, it is unclear how kinship between interacting strains affects their fitness, the genotype assortment, and incorporation of the mutant lacking the main structural ECM polysaccharide (EpsA-O) into floating biofilms (pellicles). We cultivate Bacillus subtilis strains as mixtures of isogenic, kin and nonkin strain combinations in the biofilm-promoting medium (MSgg) in static conditions, allowing them to form pellicles. We show that in nonkin pellicles, the dominant strain strongly reduced the frequency of the other strain. Segregation of nonkin mixtures in pellicles increased and invasion of nonkin EpsA-O-deficient mutants into pellicles decreased compared to kin and isogenic floating biofilms. Kin and isogenic strains had comparable relative frequencies in pellicles and showed more homogenous cell mixing. Overall, our results emphasize kin discrimination as a social behavior that shapes strain distribution, spatial segregation and ECM mutant ability to incorporate into genetically heterogenous biofilms of B. subtilis. Bacillus subtilis biofilms kin discrimination incorporation of extracellular matrix polysaccharide mutant mikrobne združbe biofilm socialne interakcije sorodstvena diskriminacija zunajcelični polisaharidi true false true Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik Članek v reviji 2022-10-25 08:51:59 2022-10-25 08:52:05 2023-05-10 03:35:54 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2022 0 0 14 str. iss. 18 Vol. 88 Sep. 2022 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno NiDoloceno 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 579.24/.26:579.852.11 1098-5336 10.1128/aem.00871-22 117918979 aem.00871-22.pdf aem.00871-22.pdf 1 E85FC6AA5A3229D9DC39C054B3912525 d54d2148a426b33cee9ce4b3eac4e53cd3dbb82a0c63546513c3b799e21e04c0 7b382f89-ee35-11ed-a314-00155dcfd717 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=168658 https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/aem.00871-22 0 83d97a42-5445-11ed-9c94-00155dcfd717 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=163494 Biotehniška fakulteta 0 0 0