Implications of proteome allocation constraints for understanding interbacterial antagonism

Bacteria live in dense communities where competition influences the composition and, therefore, the function of these communities. Beyond competing for resources, bacteria engage in antagonism by deploying a range of molecular weapon systems to inhibit and kill other bacteria. Investing in antagonism is expected to incur a fitness trade-off, but the nature of this trade-off at the level of molecular physiology remains underexplained. Applying recent advances about the physiological constraints faced by bacterial cells may help us better understand existing studies and design new investigations into interbacterial antagonism. Bacterial cells face two important constraints: a finite amount of protein and a maximum translation speed for ribosomes. As a result, the only way for a cell to grow faster is to allocate more of its finite proteome to synthesizing ribosomes. A cell choosing to attack competitors must therefore allocate some of its limited proteome budget to antagonistic proteins instead of other functions. Conversely, being attacked and resisting the effects of such attacks also require an investment of proteomic resources. The extent to which proteome allocation constraints influence bacterial physiology is not fully understood; consequently, how these constraints influence interbacterial antagonism has not been investigated. Here, I will discuss how proteome allocation constraints can re-contextualize our existing understanding of the costs of both deploying and resisting attacks and how investigation of these constraints may further our understanding of interbacterial antagonism.