Biomechanical modeling of spatiotemporal bacteria-phage competition
Abstract Bacteriophages are viral predators of bacteria. Understanding the bacteria-phage competition is crucial for horizontal gene transfer and treatment of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. Here, we investigate the interaction dynamics between common rod-shaped bacteria such as Escherich...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Communications Physics |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s42005-025-02078-1 |
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| author | Andrés Valdez Hui Sun Howard Howie Weiss Igor Aranson |
| author_facet | Andrés Valdez Hui Sun Howard Howie Weiss Igor Aranson |
| author_sort | Andrés Valdez |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Bacteriophages are viral predators of bacteria. Understanding the bacteria-phage competition is crucial for horizontal gene transfer and treatment of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. Here, we investigate the interaction dynamics between common rod-shaped bacteria such as Escherichia coli or Pseudomonas aeruginosa and lytic phages within 2D and 3D environments. Our computational study is based on established experimental observations of bacteria-phage interactions. A lytic phage effectively kills bacterial cells in a colony, leading to significant consequences for its morphology and expansion. Through computational modeling, we observe that phage interactions with bacteria produce phage-plaque regions characterized by cell death, reorganization, and altered colony growth dynamics. As phages predate, surviving cells tend to re-align toward the phage-affected region, forming a more ordered structure. This reordering effect not only reduces the radial spread of the colony but, in highly virulent scenarios, generates an inflow of cells toward the phage-plaque, effectively “devouring” portions of the colony. Our work highlights how phages control the self-organization of proliferating active matter and offers insights into targeted approaches for managing bacterial populations in biofilm-associated environments. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d6c2126440f8482e8ffc5b6f53d0ce6f |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2399-3650 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Communications Physics |
| spelling | doaj-art-d6c2126440f8482e8ffc5b6f53d0ce6f2025-08-20T03:10:12ZengNature PortfolioCommunications Physics2399-36502025-04-018111010.1038/s42005-025-02078-1Biomechanical modeling of spatiotemporal bacteria-phage competitionAndrés Valdez0Hui Sun1Howard Howie Weiss2Igor Aranson3Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State UniversityDepartment of Mathematics and Statistics, California State UniversityDepartments of Biology and Mathematics, The Pennsylvania State UniversityDepartments of Biomedical Engineering, Chemistry, and Mathematics, The Pennsylvania State UniversityAbstract Bacteriophages are viral predators of bacteria. Understanding the bacteria-phage competition is crucial for horizontal gene transfer and treatment of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. Here, we investigate the interaction dynamics between common rod-shaped bacteria such as Escherichia coli or Pseudomonas aeruginosa and lytic phages within 2D and 3D environments. Our computational study is based on established experimental observations of bacteria-phage interactions. A lytic phage effectively kills bacterial cells in a colony, leading to significant consequences for its morphology and expansion. Through computational modeling, we observe that phage interactions with bacteria produce phage-plaque regions characterized by cell death, reorganization, and altered colony growth dynamics. As phages predate, surviving cells tend to re-align toward the phage-affected region, forming a more ordered structure. This reordering effect not only reduces the radial spread of the colony but, in highly virulent scenarios, generates an inflow of cells toward the phage-plaque, effectively “devouring” portions of the colony. Our work highlights how phages control the self-organization of proliferating active matter and offers insights into targeted approaches for managing bacterial populations in biofilm-associated environments.https://doi.org/10.1038/s42005-025-02078-1 |
| spellingShingle | Andrés Valdez Hui Sun Howard Howie Weiss Igor Aranson Biomechanical modeling of spatiotemporal bacteria-phage competition Communications Physics |
| title | Biomechanical modeling of spatiotemporal bacteria-phage competition |
| title_full | Biomechanical modeling of spatiotemporal bacteria-phage competition |
| title_fullStr | Biomechanical modeling of spatiotemporal bacteria-phage competition |
| title_full_unstemmed | Biomechanical modeling of spatiotemporal bacteria-phage competition |
| title_short | Biomechanical modeling of spatiotemporal bacteria-phage competition |
| title_sort | biomechanical modeling of spatiotemporal bacteria phage competition |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s42005-025-02078-1 |
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