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Regulatory Rewiring Drives Intraspecies Competition in Bacillus subtilis

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Title: Regulatory Rewiring Drives Intraspecies Competition in Bacillus subtilis
Authors: Kalamara, Margarita, Bonsall, Alistair, Griffin, Jonathan, Carneiro, Joana, Gierlinski, Marek, Eigentler, Lukas, Stevenson, David, Wood, Amy, Porter, Michael, Dorfmueller, Helge, MacPhee, Cait E., Abbott, James, Stanley-Wall, Nicola
Source: Kalamara, M, Bonsall, A, Griffin, J, Carneiro, J, Gierlinski, M, Eigentler, L, Stevenson, D, Wood, A, Porter, M, Dorfmueller, H, MacPhee, C E, Abbott, J & Stanley-Wall, N 2026, 'Regulatory Rewiring Drives Intraspecies Competition in Bacillus subtilis', PLoS Genetics, vol. 22, no. 2, e1012050, pp. e1012050. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1012050
Publication Year: 2026
Collection: Discovery - University of Dundee Online Publications
Subject Terms: Bacillus subtilis, Intraspecies competition, Quorum sensing, ComQXPA system, Experimental evolution, Regulatory rewiring, Sensor kinase mutations, /dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1100/1105, name=Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, /dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1300/1312, name=Molecular Biology, /dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1300/1311, name=Genetics, /dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/2700/2716, name=Genetics(clinical), /dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1300/1306, name=Cancer Research
Description: Intraspecies interactions shape microbial community structure and evolution, yet the mechanisms determining competitive outcomes among closely related strains remain unclear. The soil bacterium Bacillus subtilis is a model for microbial social interactions, where quorum-sensing systems regulate cooperation and antagonism. Here, we take a multifaceted approach to dissect the role of quorum-sensing regulation in competitive fitness. Isolate NCIB 3610 carries a signal unresponsive RapP-PhrP module that alters quorum-sensing control and promotes faster growth. Modelling and mutant analysis demonstrate that the small differences in growth rate conferred by RapP-PhrP3610 are sufficient to drive competitive exclusion. The importance of quorum sensing control is further exemplified by experimental evolution of distinct wild isolates, which revealed recurrent mutations in the sensor kinase comP, which phenocopy complete comP or comA deletions and confer a growth-linked competitive advantage. Key quorum sensing mechanisms are abandoned even in structured microbial communities, where it might be expected that communal traits are favoured. Furthermore, a phylogenomic survey of 370 B. subtilis genomes identified disruptive comP mutations in ~16% of isolates. However, growth rate alone does not explain all interaction outcomes as even isogenic strains with equivalent doubling times differ in competitiveness. Transcriptomic profiling and validation experiments implicated a type VII secretion system toxin as an additional effector. These findings reveal that disruption of quorum-sensing pathways, whether naturally or through selection, provides a rapid route to competitive advantage, highlighting a fundamental trade-off between communal signalling and individual fitness in microbial populations.
Document Type: article in journal/newspaper
File Description: application/pdf
Language: English
ISSN: 1553-7390
1553-7404
Relation: info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/pmid/41701782; info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/pissn/1553-7390; info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/eissn/1553-7404; info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/pmid/42013052
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1012050
Availability: https://discovery.dundee.ac.uk/en/publications/3320335a-65d3-40f7-86a8-2c072d8d45f2
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1012050
https://discovery.dundee.ac.uk/ws/files/164484665/journal.pgen.1012050.pdf
https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105031381937
Rights: info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess ; http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Accession Number: edsbas.8FF78D7E
Database: BASE
Description
ISSN:15537390
15537404
DOI:10.1371/journal.pgen.1012050