Coupling between distant biofilms and emergence of nutrient time-sharing

Jintao Liu, Rosa Martinez-Corral, Arthur Prindle, Dong Yeon D. Lee, Joseph Larkin, Marçal Gabalda-Sagarra, Jordi Garcia-Ojalvo, Gürol M. Süel*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

130 Scopus citations

Abstract

Bacteria within communities can interact to organize their behavior. It has been unclear whether such interactions can extend beyond a single community to coordinate the behavior of distant populations. We discovered that two Bacillus subtilis biofilm communities undergoing metabolic oscillations can become coupled through electrical signaling and synchronize their growth dynamics. Coupling increases competition by also synchronizing demand for limited nutrients. As predicted by mathematical modeling, we confirm that biofilms resolve this conflict by switching from in-phase to antiphase oscillations. This results in time-sharing behavior, where each community takes turns consuming nutrients. Time-sharing enables biofilms to counterintuitively increase growth under reduced nutrient supply. Distant biofilms can thus coordinate their behavior to resolve nutrient competition through time-sharing, a strategy used in engineered systems to allocate limited resources.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)638-642
Number of pages5
JournalScience
Volume356
Issue number6338
DOIs
StatePublished - May 12 2017

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General

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