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Title
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Ghost competition : on the reliability of quorum sensing as an information source for bacterial species
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Author
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Abstract
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| Given the immense evolutionary pressure in bacterial communities, microbial species have developed simple, yet efficient, information gathering systems to coordinate the regulation of their genes. By producing small diffusible chemical molecules, known as quorum signals, a microbial species could assess the density of its population in order to timely express its costly traits. However, this poses the question of whether such information processing systems could be vulnerable to manipulation by competing strains such that the quorum-regulated species can not infer the true state of their environment. This”ghost competition” could eventually lead to wasteful production of costly compounds as targeted bacteria can no longer tune their gene regulation to best suit their own interests. Using an ecological competition model between a toxin producer and toxin sensitive strain, we find that bacteria could indeed gain from producing quorum signals to disrupt the gene regulation systems of their ecological competitors. It has been also found that there will be an optimal cost for signal production that offers a balance between a minimal impact on growth and maximal protection against false signaling. |
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Language
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English
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Source (book)
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Proceedings of the 10th International conference on simulation and modelling in the food and bio-industry 2018 : FOODSIM 2018, 8-12 April, 2018, Ghent, Belgium
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Publication
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Eurosis
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2018
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ISBN
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978-94-92859-01-3
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Volume/pages
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p. 253-258
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