Social behaviours by Bacillus subtilis: quorum sensing, kin discrimination and beyond

TY - JOUR

T1 - Social behaviours by Bacillus subtilis: quorum sensing, kin discrimination and beyond

AU - Kalamara, Margarita

AU - Špacapan, Mihael

AU - Mandic‐Mulec, Ines

AU - Stanley-Wall, Nicola

N1 - Work in the NSW laboratory is supported by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council [BB/P001335/1; BB/R012415/1]. Work in the IMM laboratory is supported by the Slovenian research agency program grant P4-0116, the J4-7637 grant for fundamental research and the young researcher grant awarded to MŠ. We thank Prof Akos Kovacs for his helpful input."

PY - 2018/12/1

Y1 - 2018/12/1

N2 - Here we review the multiple mechanisms that the Gram‐positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis uses to allow it to communicate between cells and establish community structures. The modes of action that are used are highly varied and include routes that sense pheromone levels during quorum sensing and control gene regulation, the intimate coupling of cells via nanotubes to share cytoplasmic contents, and long range electrical signalling to couple metabolic processes both within and between biofilms. We explore the ability of B. subtilis to detect “kin” (and “cheater cells”) by looking at the mechanisms used to potentially ensure beneficial sharing (or limit exploitation) of extracellular “public goods”. Finally reflecting on the array of methods that a single bacterium has at its disposal to ensure maximal benefit for its progeny, we highlight that a large future challenge will be integrating how these systems interact in mixed species communities.

AB - Here we review the multiple mechanisms that the Gram‐positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis uses to allow it to communicate between cells and establish community structures. The modes of action that are used are highly varied and include routes that sense pheromone levels during quorum sensing and control gene regulation, the intimate coupling of cells via nanotubes to share cytoplasmic contents, and long range electrical signalling to couple metabolic processes both within and between biofilms. We explore the ability of B. subtilis to detect “kin” (and “cheater cells”) by looking at the mechanisms used to potentially ensure beneficial sharing (or limit exploitation) of extracellular “public goods”. Finally reflecting on the array of methods that a single bacterium has at its disposal to ensure maximal benefit for its progeny, we highlight that a large future challenge will be integrating how these systems interact in mixed species communities.

KW - Bacillus subtilis

KW - quorum sensing

KW - nanotubes

KW - electrical signalling kin‐selection

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85055949862&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1111/mmi.14127

DO - 10.1111/mmi.14127

M3 - Review article

VL - 110

SP - 863

EP - 878

JO - Molecular Microbiology

JF - Molecular Microbiology

SN - 0950-382X

IS - 6

ER -