Scale-dependent tipping points of bacterial colonization resistance
Abstract
The commonly observed stability of natural microbiomes is important for their function, yet the ubiquity of microbiome stability remains enigmatic. The strongest form of stability, colonization resistance, protects residents against invaders and is often associated with specific porous structures, such as skin follicles or intestinal crypts. By systematically probing the colonization of fly gut–derived bacteria in microfluidic pores of varying sizes, we revealed that colonization patterns and invasion rates strongly depend on the pore size. Mathematical modeling shows that bacteria spontaneously tend to organize into a dense colonization-resistant state in pores exceeding a critical size. The scale dependence of stability and resilience could bias ecological filtering in microbiomes and should be considered in the design of microbial ecology experiments.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Feb 10, 2022
- Source ID
- 10.1073/pnas.2115496119
Entities
People
- David T Limmer
- Oskar Hallatschek
- Yuya Karita
Organizations
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
- National Institute of General Medical Sciences
- National Science Foundation
- Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry