The influence of cell morphology on the dynamics and stability of model bacterial communities
- 1Department of Chemical and Physical Sciences, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
- 2Department of Physics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Abstract
Understanding how structures arise in microbial communities remains an outstanding challenge in bacterial ecology. When replicating within dense and confined environments, bacterial populations may collectively self-organize as a result of mechanical interactions. We previously observed that model dual-populations of bacteria, colonizing open-ended microchannels, either quickly fixate to a single population or segregate into long-lived, coexisting populations. This latter quasi-stability results from the alignment of bacteria into lanes, forcing cells to grow toward the open ends of the channel, with inter-lane invasion events driving the boundary dynamics between populations. Here we apply agent-based (AB) simulations to explore the boundary dynamics between dual-bacterial populations of varying morphology and division rate. We find that the simulated boundary dynamics are well-described by a simple drift-diffusion model, which enables us to estimate the mean time to fixation within competitive scenarios where the fixation time is difficult to access by AB simulations. Coccus-like cells display a competitive advantage over bacillus cells as they can more effectively invade and ultimately fixate, while coexisting populations of bacillus cells are “effectively” stable. And while faster-dividing cells should have a selective advantage, their morphology determines if this advantage drives fixation or acts as a defensive strategy to maintain their population. These findings highlight the critical role that cell morphology and mechanics play in shaping bacterial communities. Author summary: Bacteria are often found in multi-species communities, many of which are critical to human health, the environment, and industry. Within these communities, competition for resources shapes the overall population structure and resulting ecology. Model systems can provide a test-bed for understanding the interaction networks of these more complex communities. Here we show how mechanical forces between cells and their environment can be critical to the stability (or instability) of a bacterial community. Using simulations of dual-species competition within two-dimensional microchannels, along with mathematical modelling, we find that cell morphology can be a determining factor in the stability of a multi-species community.
Related
- Biofilms promote tolerance and stability in gut bacterial communities during bile acid stress
- Local hydrology and seasonality outweigh the influence of Phragmites australis on coastal bacterial communities across two Baltic Sea bays
- Microclimate characteristics, temporal dynamics of soil bacterial communities, and potential co-occurrence network differences between greenhouse and open-field cultivation environments
- Evidence of active phage replication during vegetable fermentation and implications for the dynamics of bacterial communities
- Lead Dynamics in Saline Aquaponics: Tissue Accumulation in Litopenaeus vannamei and Sesuvium portulacastrum and Root-Associated Bacterial Communities.
BibTeX
@article{lim2026influence,
title = {{The influence of cell morphology on the dynamics and stability of model bacterial communities}},
author = {Ing Xhu Lim and Faisal Halabeya and Joshua N Milstein},
journal = {PLOS Computational Biology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1371/journal.pcbi.1014874},
url = {https://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1014874},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - The influence of cell morphology on the dynamics and stability of model bacterial communities
AU - Ing Xhu Lim
AU - Faisal Halabeya
AU - Joshua N Milstein
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/13
JO - PLOS Computational Biology
DO - 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1014874
UR - https://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1014874
AB - Understanding how structures arise in microbial communities remains an outstanding challenge in bacterial ecology. When replicating within dense and confined environments, bacterial populations may collectively self-organize as a result of mechanical interactions. We previously observed that model dual-populations of bacteria, colonizing open-ended microchannels, either quickly fixate to a single population or segregate into long-lived, coexisting populations. This latter quasi-stability results from the alignment of bacteria into lanes, forcing cells to grow toward the open ends of the channel, with inter-lane invasion events driving the boundary dynamics between populations. Here we apply agent-based (AB) simulations to explore the boundary dynamics between dual-bacterial populations of varying morphology and division rate. We find that the simulated boundary dynamics are well-described by a simple drift-diffusion model, which enables us to estimate the mean time to fixation within competitive scenarios where the fixation time is difficult to access by AB simulations. Coccus-like cells display a competitive advantage over bacillus cells as they can more effectively invade and ultimately fixate, while coexisting populations of bacillus cells are “effectively” stable. And while faster-dividing cells should have a selective advantage, their morphology determines if this advantage drives fixation or acts as a defensive strategy to maintain their population. These findings highlight the critical role that cell morphology and mechanics play in shaping bacterial communities. Author summary: Bacteria are often found in multi-species communities, many of which are critical to human health, the environment, and industry. Within these communities, competition for resources shapes the overall population structure and resulting ecology. Model systems can provide a test-bed for understanding the interaction networks of these more complex communities. Here we show how mechanical forces between cells and their environment can be critical to the stability (or instability) of a bacterial community. Using simulations of dual-species competition within two-dimensional microchannels, along with mathematical modelling, we find that cell morphology can be a determining factor in the stability of a multi-species community.
SN - 1553-7358
SN - 1553-734X
ER -