• Resolving Social Conflict Is Key to Survival of Bacterial Communities
    http://scienceblog.com/79423/resolving-social-conflict-key-survival-bacterial-communities

    The conflict is essentially this: Bacteria at the outer edges of the biofilm are the most vulnerable within their community to chemical and antibiotic attacks. At the same time, they also provide protection to the interior cells. But the bacteria at the outer edge are the closest to nutrients necessary for growth. So if they grow unchecked, they can consume all the food and starve the sheltered interior cells.

    But that doesn’t happen, because the biofilm develops an ingenious solution to this problem that the scientists call “metabolic codependence.” Essentially, the interior cells produce a metabolite necessary for the growth of the bacteria on the outside. This provides the inner cells with the ability to periodically put the brakes on the growth of outer cells, which otherwise would consume all the food and starve the cells they are protecting from attack. By periodically preventing the growth on the periphery, inner cells ensure that they have sufficient access to nutrients. By keeping the protected inner cells alive, the biofilm has a much higher chance of surviving antibiotic treatment.

    #microbiologie #bactérie #resistance #antibiotique