Motile curved bacteria are Pareto-optimal

Author:

Schuech RudiORCID,Hoehfurtner TatjanaORCID,Smith DavidORCID,Humphries StuartORCID

Abstract

AbstractCurved-rods are a ubiquitous bacterial phenotype, but the fundamental question of why they are shaped this way remains unanswered. Throughin silicoexperiments, we assessed freely swimming straight- and curved-rod bacteria of a wide diversity of equal-volume shapes parameterized by elongation and curvature, and predicted their performances in tasks likely to strongly influence overall fitness. Performance tradeoffs between these tasks lead to a variety of shapes that are Pareto-optimal, including coccoids, all straight rods, and a range of curvatures. Comparison with an extensive morphological survey of motile curved-rod bacteria indicates that the vast majority of species fall within the Pareto-optimal region of morphospace. This result is consistent with evolutionary tradeoffs between just three tasks: efficient swimming, chemotaxis, and low cell construction cost. We thus reveal the underlying selective pressures driving morphological diversity in a wide-spread component of microbial ecosystems.Significance StatementBacteria exhibit a bewildering diversity of morphologies but despite their impact on nearly all aspects of life, they are frequently classified into a few general categories, usually just ‘spheres’ and ‘rods’. Curved-rod bacteria are one simple variation and are widespread, particularly in the ocean. However, why so many species have evolved this shape is unknown. We show that curvature can increase swimming efficiency, revealing a widely-applicable selective advantage. Furthermore, we show that the distribution of cell lengths and curvatures observed across bacteria in nature are predicted by evolutionary tradeoffs between three tasks influenced by shape: efficient swimming, the ability to detect chemical gradients, and reduced cost of cell construction. We therefore reveal shape as an important component of microbial fitness.

Publisher

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

Reference331 articles.

Cited by 1 articles. 订阅此论文施引文献 订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3