Monitoring intraspecies competition in a bacterial cell population by cocultivation of fluorescently labelled strains

J Vis Exp. 2014 Jan 18:(83):e51196. doi: 10.3791/51196.

Abstract

Many microorganisms such as bacteria proliferate extremely fast and the populations may reach high cell densities. Small fractions of cells in a population always have accumulated mutations that are either detrimental or beneficial for the cell. If the fitness effect of a mutation provides the subpopulation with a strong selective growth advantage, the individuals of this subpopulation may rapidly outcompete and even completely eliminate their immediate fellows. Thus, small genetic changes and selection-driven accumulation of cells that have acquired beneficial mutations may lead to a complete shift of the genotype of a cell population. Here we present a procedure to monitor the rapid clonal expansion and elimination of beneficial and detrimental mutations, respectively, in a bacterial cell population over time by cocultivation of fluorescently labeled individuals of the Gram-positive model bacterium Bacillus subtilis. The method is easy to perform and very illustrative to display intraspecies competition among the individuals in a bacterial cell population.

Publication types

  • Video-Audio Media

MeSH terms

  • Bacillus subtilis / chemistry
  • Bacillus subtilis / genetics
  • Bacillus subtilis / growth & development*
  • Bacterial Proteins / chemistry
  • Bacterial Proteins / genetics
  • Bacteriological Techniques / methods*
  • Fluorescent Dyes / chemistry
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins / chemistry
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins / genetics
  • Luminescent Proteins / chemistry
  • Luminescent Proteins / genetics
  • Microscopy, Fluorescence / methods

Substances

  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Cyan Fluorescent Protein
  • Fluorescent Dyes
  • Luminescent Proteins
  • yellow fluorescent protein, Bacteria
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins