Killing by Type VI secretion drives genetic phase separation and correlates with increased cooperation

Luke McNally, Eryn Bernardy, Jacob Thomas, Arben Kalziqi, Jennifer Pentz, Sam P. Brown, Brian K. Hammer, Peter J. Yunker () and William C. Ratcliff ()
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Luke McNally: Centre for Immunity, Infection and Evolution, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh
Eryn Bernardy: School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology
Jacob Thomas: School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology
Arben Kalziqi: School of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology
Jennifer Pentz: School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology
Sam P. Brown: School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology
Brian K. Hammer: School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology
Peter J. Yunker: School of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology
William C. Ratcliff: School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology

Nature Communications, 2017, vol. 8, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract By nature of their small size, dense growth and frequent need for extracellular metabolism, microbes face persistent public goods dilemmas. Genetic assortment is the only general solution stabilizing cooperation, but all known mechanisms structuring microbial populations depend on the availability of free space, an often unrealistic constraint. Here we describe a class of self-organization that operates within densely packed bacterial populations. Through mathematical modelling and experiments with Vibrio cholerae, we show how killing adjacent competitors via the Type VI secretion system (T6SS) precipitates phase separation via the ‘Model A’ universality class of order-disorder transition mediated by killing. We mathematically demonstrate that T6SS-mediated killing should favour the evolution of public goods cooperation, and empirically support this prediction using a phylogenetic comparative analysis. This work illustrates the twin role played by the T6SS, dealing death to local competitors while simultaneously creating conditions potentially favouring the evolution of cooperation with kin.

Date: 2017
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms14371

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