title: Metabolic co-dependence gives rise to collective oscillations within biofilms.
abstract: Cells that reside within a community can cooperate and also compete with each other for resources. It remains unclear how these opposing interactions are resolved at the population level. Here we investigate such an internal conflict within a microbial (Bacillus subtilis) biofilm community: cells in the biofilm periphery not only protect interior cells from external attack but also starve them through nutrient consumption. We discover that this conflict between protection and starvation is resolved through emergence of long-range metabolic co-dependence between peripheral and interior cells. As a result, biofilm growth halts periodically, increasing nutrient availability for the sheltered interior cells. We show that this collective oscillation in biofilm growth benefits the community in the event of a chemical attack. These findings indicate that oscillations support population-level conflict resolution by coordinating competing metabolic demands in space and time, suggesting new strategies to control biofilm growth.
authors.affiliation: Division of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, California 92093, USA.
authors.forename: Jintao
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Division of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, California 92093, USA.
authors.forename: Arthur
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Prindle
authors.affiliation: Division of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, California 92093, USA.
authors.forename: Jacqueline
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Humphries
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 08003 Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Marçal
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gabalda-Sagarra
authors.affiliation: Warwick Integrative Synthetic Biology Centre, School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK.
authors.forename: Munehiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Asally
authors.affiliation: Division of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, California 92093, USA.
authors.forename: Dong-yeon D
authors.initials: DY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Division of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, California 92093, USA.
authors.forename: San
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ly
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 08003 Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Garcia-Ojalvo
authors.affiliation: Division of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, California 92093, USA.
authors.forename: Gürol M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Süel
mesh_terms: D064751:Ammonium Compounds / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism*; D018441:Biofilms / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development*; D002909:Chronobiology Phenomena; D025461:Feedback, Physiological; D005502:Food; D046210:Microfluidic Analytical Techniques
chemical_list: D064751:Ammonium Compounds