scholarly journals Antibiotic production is organized by a division of labour inStreptomyces

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zheren Zhang ◽  
Frederique de Barsy ◽  
Michael Liem ◽  
Apostolos Liakopoulos ◽  
Young H. Choi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Metabolites ◽  
Antibiotic Production ◽  
Streptomyces Coelicolor ◽  
Division Of Labour ◽  
Cooperative Groups ◽  
Individual Fitness ◽  
Mutant Strains ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Chromosomal Changes ◽  
The Cost

AbstractOne of the hallmark behaviors of social groups is division of labour, where different group members become specialized to carry out complementary tasks. By dividing labour, cooperative groups of individuals increase their efficiency, thereby raising group fitness even if these specialized behaviors reduce the fitness of individual group members. Here we provide evidence that antibiotic production in colonies of the multicellular bacteriumStreptomyces coelicoloris coordinated by a division of labour. We show thatS. coelicolorcolonies are genetically heterogenous due to massive amplifications and deletions to the chromosome. Cells with gross chromosomal changes produce an increased diversity of secondary metabolites and secrete significantly more antibiotics; however, these changes come at the cost of dramatically reduced individual fitness, providing direct evidence for a trade-off between secondary metabolite production and fitness. Finally, we show that colonies containing mixtures of mutant strains and their parents produce significantly more antibiotics, while colony-wide spore production remains unchanged. Our work demonstrates that by generating mutants that are specialized to hyper-produce antibiotics, streptomycetes reduce the colony-wide fitness costs of secreted secondary metabolites while maximizing the yield and diversity of these products.

scholarly journals Antibiotic production in Streptomyces is organized by a division of labor through terminal genomic differentiation

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. eaay5781 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zheren Zhang ◽  
Chao Du ◽  
Frédérique de Barsy ◽  
Michael Liem ◽  
Apostolos Liakopoulos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Metabolites ◽  
Division Of Labor ◽  
Antibiotic Production ◽  
Streptomyces Coelicolor ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Cooperative Groups ◽  
Fitness Costs ◽  
Individual Fitness ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Chromosomal Changes

One of the hallmark behaviors of social groups is division of labor, where different group members become specialized to carry out complementary tasks. By dividing labor, cooperative groups increase efficiency, thereby raising group fitness even if these behaviors reduce individual fitness. We find that antibiotic production in colonies of Streptomyces coelicolor is coordinated by a division of labor. We show that S. coelicolor colonies are genetically heterogeneous because of amplifications and deletions to the chromosome. Cells with chromosomal changes produce diversified secondary metabolites and secrete more antibiotics; however, these changes reduced individual fitness, providing evidence for a trade-off between antibiotic production and fitness. Last, we show that colonies containing mixtures of mutants and their parents produce significantly more antibiotics, while colony-wide spore production remains unchanged. By generating specialized mutants that hyper-produce antibiotics, streptomycetes reduce the fitness costs of secreted secondary metabolites while maximizing the yield and diversity of these products.

scholarly journals Major Evolutionary Transitions in Social Insects, the Importance of Worker Sterility and Life History Trade-Offs

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abel Bernadou ◽  
Boris H. Kramer ◽  
Judith Korb
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Social Insects ◽  
Division Of Labour ◽  
Evolutionary Transitions ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Individual Fitness ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Group Members ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Worker Sterility

The evolution of eusociality in social insects, such as termites, ants, and some bees and wasps, has been regarded as a major evolutionary transition (MET). Yet, there is some debate whether all species qualify. Here, we argue that worker sterility is a decisive criterion to determine whether species have passed a MET (= superorganisms), or not. When workers are sterile, reproductive interests align among group members as individual fitness is transferred to the colony level. Division of labour among cooperating units is a major driver that favours the evolution of METs across all biological scales. Many METs are characterised by a differentiation into reproductive versus maintenance functions. In social insects, the queen specialises on reproduction while workers take over maintenance functions such as food provisioning. Such division of labour allows specialisation and it reshapes life history trade-offs among cooperating units. For instance, individuals within colonies of social insects can overcome the omnipresent fecundity/longevity trade-off, which limits reproductive success in organisms, when increased fecundity shortens lifespan. Social insect queens (particularly in superorganismal species) can reach adult lifespans of several decades and are among the most fecund terrestrial animals. The resulting enormous reproductive output may contribute to explain why some genera of social insects became so successful. Indeed, superorganismal ant lineages have more species than those that have not passed a MET. We conclude that the release from life history constraints at the individual level is a important, yet understudied, factor across METs to explain their evolutionary success.

scholarly journals Skills, division of labour and economies of scale among Amazonian hunters and South Indian honey collectors

2015 ◽  
Vol 370 (1683) ◽  
pp. 20150008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul L. Hooper ◽  
Kathryn Demps ◽  
Michael Gurven ◽  
Drew Gerkey ◽  
Hillard S. Kaplan
Keyword(s):  
Group Size ◽  
Economies Of Scale ◽  
Returns To Scale ◽  
Division Of Labour ◽  
Social Constraints ◽  
Cooperative Groups ◽  
Self Organized ◽  
South Indian ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Group Success

In foraging and other productive activities, individuals make choices regarding whether and with whom to cooperate, and in what capacities. The size and composition of cooperative groups can be understood as a self-organized outcome of these choices, which are made under local ecological and social constraints. This article describes a theoretical framework for explaining the size and composition of foraging groups based on three principles: (i) the sexual division of labour; (ii) the intergenerational division of labour; and (iii) economies of scale in production. We test predictions from the theory with data from two field contexts: Tsimane' game hunters of lowland Bolivia, and Jenu Kuruba honey collectors of South India. In each case, we estimate the impacts of group size and individual group members' effort on group success. We characterize differences in the skill requirements of different foraging activities and show that individuals participate more frequently in activities in which they are more efficient. We evaluate returns to scale across different resource types and observe higher returns at larger group sizes in foraging activities (such as hunting large game) that benefit from coordinated and complementary roles. These results inform us that the foraging group size and composition are guided by the motivated choice of individuals on the basis of relative efficiency, benefits of cooperation, opportunity costs and other social considerations.

A Cooperative Species

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel Bowles ◽  
Herbert Gintis
Keyword(s):  
Common Good ◽  
Cooperative Groups ◽  
Social Emotions ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Group Competition ◽  
Self Interest ◽  
Shame And Guilt ◽  
Group Members ◽  
The Common ◽  
Ethnographic Data

Why do humans, uniquely among animals, cooperate in large numbers to advance projects for the common good? Contrary to the conventional wisdom in biology and economics, this generous and civic-minded behavior is widespread and cannot be explained simply by far-sighted self-interest or a desire to help close genealogical kin. This book shows that the central issue is not why selfish people act generously, but instead how genetic and cultural evolution has produced a species in which substantial numbers make sacrifices to uphold ethical norms and to help even total strangers. The book describes how, for thousands of generations, cooperation with fellow group members has been essential to survival. Groups that created institutions to protect the civic-minded from exploitation by the selfish flourished and prevailed in conflicts with less cooperative groups. Key to this process was the evolution of social emotions such as shame and guilt, and our capacity to internalize social norms so that acting ethically became a personal goal rather than simply a prudent way to avoid punishment. Using experimental, archaeological, genetic, and ethnographic data to calibrate models of the coevolution of genes and culture as well as prehistoric warfare and other forms of group competition, the book provides a compelling and novel account of human cooperation.

scholarly journals Role of Phosphopantetheinyl Transferase Genes in Antibiotic Production by Streptomyces coelicolor

2008 ◽  
Vol 190 (20) ◽  
pp. 6903-6908 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ya-Wen Lu ◽  
Adrianna K. San Roman ◽  
Amy M. Gehring
Keyword(s):  
Antibiotic Production ◽  
Streptomyces Coelicolor ◽  
Morphological Development ◽  
Phosphopantetheinyl Transferase ◽  
Calcium Dependent ◽  
Actinorhodin Production

ABSTRACT The phosphopantetheinyl transferase genes SCO5883 (redU) and SCO6673 were disrupted in Streptomyces coelicolor. The redU mutants did not synthesize undecylprodigiosin, while SCO6673 mutants failed to produce calcium-dependent antibiotic. Neither gene was essential for actinorhodin production or morphological development in S. coelicolor, although their mutation could influence these processes.

scholarly journals Phytoplankton trigger the production of cryptic metabolites in the marine actinobacteria Salinispora tropica

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Audam Chhun ◽  
Despoina Sousoni ◽  
Maria del Mar Aguiló-Ferretjans ◽  
Lijiang Song ◽  
Christophe Corre ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Products ◽  
Secondary Metabolites ◽  
Antibiotic Production ◽  
Antimicrobial Effect ◽  
Gene Clusters ◽  
Biosynthetic Gene ◽  
Biosynthetic Gene Clusters ◽  
Marine Actinobacteria ◽  
Salinispora Tropica ◽  
Eukaryotic Phytoplankton

AbstractBacteria from the Actinomycete family are a remarkable source of natural products with pharmaceutical potential. The discovery of novel molecules from these organisms is, however, hindered because most of the biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) encoding these secondary metabolites are cryptic or silent and are referred to as orphan BGCs. While co-culture has proven to be a promising approach to unlock the biosynthetic potential of many microorganisms by activating the expression of these orphan BGCs, it still remains an underexplored technique. The marine actinobacteria Salinispora tropica, for instance, produces valuable compounds such as the anti-cancer molecule salinosporamide A but half of its putative BGCs are still orphan. Although previous studies have looked into using marine heterotrophs to induce orphan BGCs in Salinispora, the potential impact of co-culturing marine phototrophs with Salinispora has yet to be investigated. Following the observation of clear antimicrobial phenotype of the actinobacterium on a range of phytoplanktonic organisms, we here report the discovery of novel cryptic secondary metabolites produced by S. tropica in response to its co-culture with photosynthetic primary producers. An approach combining metabolomics and proteomics revealed that the photosynthate released by phytoplankton influences the biosynthetic capacities of S. tropica with both production of new molecules and the activation of orphan BGCs. Our work pioneers the use of phototrophs as a promising strategy to accelerate the discovery of novel natural products from actinobacteria.ImportanceThe alarming increase of antimicrobial resistance has generated an enormous interest in the discovery of novel active compounds. The isolation of new microbes to untap novel natural products is currently hampered because most biosynthetic gene clusters (BGC) encoded by these microorganisms are not expressed under standard laboratory conditions, i.e. mono-cultures. Here we show that co-culturing can be an easy way for triggering silent BGC. By combining state-of-the-art metabolomics and high-throughput proteomics, we characterized the activation of cryptic metabolites and silent biosynthetic gene clusters in the marine actinobacteria Salinispora tropica by the presence of phytoplankton photosynthate. We further suggest a mechanistic understanding of the antimicrobial effect this actinobacterium has on a broad range of prokaryotic and eukaryotic phytoplankton species and reveal a promising candidate for antibiotic production.

scholarly journals Dramatic Activation of Antibiotic Production in Streptomyces coelicolor by Cumulative Drug Resistance Mutations

2008 ◽  
Vol 74 (9) ◽  
pp. 2834-2840 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guojun Wang ◽  
Takeshi Hosaka ◽  
Kozo Ochi
Keyword(s):  
Drug Resistance ◽  
Multiple Drug Resistance ◽  
Antibiotic Production ◽  
Streptomyces Coelicolor ◽  
Strain Improvement ◽  
Multiple Drug ◽  
Resistance Mutations ◽  
Drug Resistance Mutations ◽  
Order Of Magnitude

ABSTRACT We recently described a new method to activate antibiotic production in bacteria by introducing a mutation conferring resistance to a drug such as streptomycin, rifampin, paromomycin, or gentamicin. This method, however, enhanced antibiotic production by only up to an order of magnitude. Working with Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2), we established a method for the dramatic activation of antibiotic production by the sequential introduction of multiple drug resistance mutations. Septuple and octuple mutants, C7 and C8, thus obtained by screening for resistance to seven or eight drugs, produced huge amounts (1.63 g/liter) of the polyketide antibiotic actinorhodin, 180-fold higher than the level produced by the wild type. This dramatic overproduction was due to the acquisition of mutant ribosomes, with aberrant protein and ppGpp synthesis activity, as demonstrated by in vitro protein synthesis assays and by the abolition of antibiotic overproduction with relA disruption. This new approach, called “ribosome engineering,” requires less time, cost, and labor than other methods and may be widely utilized for bacterial strain improvement.

scholarly journals RNase III Is Required for Actinomycin Production in Streptomyces antibioticus

2013 ◽  
Vol 79 (20) ◽  
pp. 6447-6451 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jung-Hoon Lee ◽  
Marcha L. Gatewood ◽  
George H. Jones
Keyword(s):  
Parental Strain ◽  
Insertional Mutagenesis ◽  
Southern Blotting ◽  
Antibiotic Production ◽  
Streptomyces Coelicolor ◽  
Production Medium ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Rnase Iii ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Streptomyces Antibioticus

ABSTRACTUsing insertional mutagenesis, we have disrupted the RNase III gene,rnc, of the actinomycin-producing streptomycete,Streptomyces antibioticus. Disruption was verified by Southern blotting. The resulting strain grows more vigorously than its parent on actinomycin production medium but produces significantly lower levels of actinomycin. Complementation of therncdisruption with the wild-typerncgene fromS. antibioticusrestored actinomycin production to nearly wild-type levels. Western blotting experiments demonstrated that the disruptant did not produce full-length or truncated forms of RNase III. Thus, as is the case inStreptomyces coelicolor, RNase III is required for antibiotic production inS. antibioticus. No differences in the chemical half-lives of bulk mRNA were observed in a comparison of theS. antibioticus rncmutant and its parental strain.

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