Cheater suppression and stochastic clearance through quorum sensing.
The evolutionary consequences of quorum sensing in regulating bacterial cooperation are not fully understood. In this study, we reveal unexpected effects of regulating public good production through quorum sensing on bacterial population dynamics, showing that quorum sensing can be a collectively ha...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2022-07-01
|
| Series: | PLoS Computational Biology |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010292 |
| _version_ | 1828425089372127232 |
|---|---|
| author | Alexander S Moffett Peter J Thomas Michael Hinczewski Andrew W Eckford |
| author_facet | Alexander S Moffett Peter J Thomas Michael Hinczewski Andrew W Eckford |
| author_sort | Alexander S Moffett |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The evolutionary consequences of quorum sensing in regulating bacterial cooperation are not fully understood. In this study, we reveal unexpected effects of regulating public good production through quorum sensing on bacterial population dynamics, showing that quorum sensing can be a collectively harmful alternative to unregulated production. We analyze a birth-death model of bacterial population dynamics accounting for public good production and the presence of non-producing cheaters. Our model demonstrates that when demographic noise is a factor, the consequences of controlling public good production according to quorum sensing depend on the cost of public good production and the growth rate of populations in the absence of public goods. When public good production is inexpensive, quorum sensing is a destructive alternative to unconditional production, in terms of the mean population extinction time. When costs are higher, quorum sensing becomes a constructive strategy for the producing strain, both stabilizing cooperation and decreasing the risk of population extinction. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T16:26:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c9cc433a833f4106a1f2fdb232d1ac30 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1553-734X 1553-7358 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T16:26:20Z |
| publishDate | 2022-07-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS Computational Biology |
| spelling | doaj.art-c9cc433a833f4106a1f2fdb232d1ac302022-12-22T01:41:39ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Computational Biology1553-734X1553-73582022-07-01187e101029210.1371/journal.pcbi.1010292Cheater suppression and stochastic clearance through quorum sensing.Alexander S MoffettPeter J ThomasMichael HinczewskiAndrew W EckfordThe evolutionary consequences of quorum sensing in regulating bacterial cooperation are not fully understood. In this study, we reveal unexpected effects of regulating public good production through quorum sensing on bacterial population dynamics, showing that quorum sensing can be a collectively harmful alternative to unregulated production. We analyze a birth-death model of bacterial population dynamics accounting for public good production and the presence of non-producing cheaters. Our model demonstrates that when demographic noise is a factor, the consequences of controlling public good production according to quorum sensing depend on the cost of public good production and the growth rate of populations in the absence of public goods. When public good production is inexpensive, quorum sensing is a destructive alternative to unconditional production, in terms of the mean population extinction time. When costs are higher, quorum sensing becomes a constructive strategy for the producing strain, both stabilizing cooperation and decreasing the risk of population extinction.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010292 |
| spellingShingle | Alexander S Moffett Peter J Thomas Michael Hinczewski Andrew W Eckford Cheater suppression and stochastic clearance through quorum sensing. PLoS Computational Biology |
| title | Cheater suppression and stochastic clearance through quorum sensing. |
| title_full | Cheater suppression and stochastic clearance through quorum sensing. |
| title_fullStr | Cheater suppression and stochastic clearance through quorum sensing. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cheater suppression and stochastic clearance through quorum sensing. |
| title_short | Cheater suppression and stochastic clearance through quorum sensing. |
| title_sort | cheater suppression and stochastic clearance through quorum sensing |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010292 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT alexandersmoffett cheatersuppressionandstochasticclearancethroughquorumsensing AT peterjthomas cheatersuppressionandstochasticclearancethroughquorumsensing AT michaelhinczewski cheatersuppressionandstochasticclearancethroughquorumsensing AT andrewweckford cheatersuppressionandstochasticclearancethroughquorumsensing |