Cell–cell interactions in bacterial populations

Voloshin, S. A.; Kaprelyants, Arseny S.

doi:10.1007/pl00021767

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

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“…It is known that most bacteria live in well-organized multispecies communities rather than exist as independent cells [32]. Communication between community members and other cell-cell interactions regulate cellular activities such as metabolism, growth, and adaptation to changes in the environment [33][34][35]. Understanding cell-cell interactions helps to predict the largescale behavior of microbial populations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Single-cell variability of growth interactions within a two-species bacterial community

2019

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Cell-cell interaction networks have been examined in many high diversity microbial communities using macroscale approaches. Microscale studies of multispecies communities are lacking and it remains unclear how macroscale trends scale down to small groups of cells. Experimental approaches using microfluidic devices have revealed heterogeneity in the behavior of single cells, however, this analysis has not been extended towards the variability of cell-cell interactions. Using a microwell device, we analyzed cell growth within hundreds of replicate microbial communities consisting of two species and small population sizes. The wells of the devices were inoculated with a coculture of Escherichia coli and Enterobacter cloacae. Each species expressed a unique fluorescent protein enabling simultaneously tracking of cell number for each species over time. Growth dynamics within the device were consistent with bulk measurements. The device enabled monitoring of replicate, isolated coculture populations at high magnification, revealing both the growth interaction between the two species and the variability of such cell-cell interactions within small groups of cells. The device enables new experimental measurements of the heterogeneity of interactions within small, multispecies populations of bacteria.

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