Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab of Solid Organic Waste Utilization, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Solid Organic Wastes, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
Yuqi Chen
Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab of Solid Organic Waste Utilization, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Solid Organic Wastes, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
Yunpeng Liu
State Key Laboratory of Efficient Utilization of Arid and Semi-arid Arable Land in Northern China, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultura Sciences, Beijing, China
Dandan Wang
National Engineering Research Center for Efficient Utilization of Soil and Fertilizer Resources, College of Resources and Environment, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an, China
Haichao Feng
Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab of Solid Organic Waste Utilization, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Solid Organic Wastes, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
Weibing Xun
Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab of Solid Organic Waste Utilization, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Solid Organic Wastes, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
Qirong Shen
Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab of Solid Organic Waste Utilization, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Solid Organic Wastes, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab of Solid Organic Waste Utilization, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Solid Organic Wastes, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
Ruifu Zhang
Jiangsu Provincial Key Lab of Solid Organic Waste Utilization, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Solid Organic Wastes, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China; State Key Laboratory of Efficient Utilization of Arid and Semi-arid Arable Land in Northern China, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultura Sciences, Beijing, China
Division of labor, where subpopulations perform complementary tasks simultaneously within an assembly, characterizes major evolutionary transitions of cooperation in certain cases. Currently, the mechanism and significance of mediating the interaction between different cell types during the division of labor, remain largely unknown. Here, we investigated the molecular mechanism and ecological function of a policing system for optimizing the division of labor in Bacillus velezensis SQR9. During biofilm formation, cells differentiated into the extracellular matrix (ECM)-producers and cheater-like nonproducers. ECM-producers were also active in the biosynthesis of genomic island-governed toxic bacillunoic acids (BAs) and self-resistance; while the nonproducers were sensitive to this antibiotic and could be partially eliminated. Spo0A was identified to be the co-regulator for triggering both ECM production and BAs synthesis/immunity. Besides its well-known regulation of ECM secretion, Spo0A activates acetyl-CoA carboxylase to produce malonyl-CoA, which is essential for BAs biosynthesis, thereby stimulating BAs production and self-immunity. Finally, the policing system not only excluded ECM-nonproducing cheater-like individuals but also improved the production of other public goods such as protease and siderophore, consequently, enhancing the population stability and ecological fitness under stress conditions and in the rhizosphere. This study provides insights into our understanding of the maintenance and evolution of microbial cooperation.
