Development of Spatial Distribution Patterns by Biofilm Cells

Abstract

Confined spatial patterns of microbial distribution are prevalent in nature, such as in microbial mats, soil communities, and water stream biofilms. The symbiotic two-species consortium of Pseudomonas putida and Acinetobacter sp. strain C6, originally isolated from a creosote-polluted aquifer, has evolved a distinct spatial organization in the laboratory that is characterized by an increased fitness and productivity. In this consortium, P. putida is reliant on microcolonies formed by Acinetobacter sp. C6, to which it attaches. Here we describe the processes that lead to the microcolony pattern by Acinetobacter sp. C6. Ecological spatial pattern analyses revealed that the microcolonies were not entirely randomly distributed and instead were arranged in a uniform pattern. Detailed time-lapse confocal microscopy at the single-cell level demonstrated that the spatial pattern was the result of an intriguing self-organization: small multicellular clusters moved along the surface to fuse with one another to form microcolonies. This active distribution capability was dependent on environmental factors (carbon source and oxygen) and historical contingency (formation of phenotypic variants). The findings of this study are discussed in the context of species distribution patterns observed in macroecology, and we summarize observations about the processes involved in coadaptation between P. putida and Acinetobacter sp. C6. Our results contribute to an understanding of spatial species distribution patterns as they are observed in nature, as well as the ecology of engineered communities that have the potential for enhanced and sustainable bioprocessing capacity.

The rate of environmental fluctuations shapes ecological dynamics in a two‐species microbial system

“…; Haagensen et al . ). We chose these two species because they are able to assimilate a wide range of substrates, including aromatic compounds that can potentially pollute the environment.…”

“…(1) they offer a high degree of experimental control and replication and (2) they allow gaining a mechanistic understanding of interspecies interactions (De Roy et al 2014). The synthetic community used in this study was composed by two species: Acinetobacter johnsonii C6 and Pseudomonas putida KT2440 (Hansen et al 2007b;Haagensen et al 2015). We chose these two species because they are able to assimilate a wide range of substrates, including aromatic compounds that can potentially pollute the environment.…”

Getting Bacteria in Shape: Synthetic Morphology Approaches for the Design of Efficient Microbial Cell Factories

“…This division of metabolic work is an interesting trait that could be exploited for designing synthetic bacterial communities. Likewise, dual‐ or tripartite‐species biofilms could be also harnessed for degradation of highly toxic pollutants by taking advantage of natural interactions between bacteria …”

Draft Genome Sequence of Acinetobacter johnsonii C6, an Environmental Isolate Engaging in Interspecific Metabolic Interactions

“…Previously, it was shown that this strain could grow on toluene, benzyl alcohol, and benzoate (4, 5). …”