The influence of cell morphology on the dynamics and stability of model bacterial communities

Understanding how structures arise in microbial communities remains an outstanding challenge in bacterial ecology. When replicating within dense and confined environments, bacterial populations may collectively self-organize as a result of mechanical interactions. We previously observed that model dual-populations of bacteria, colonizing open-ended microchannels, either quickly fixate to a single population or segregate into long-lived, coexisting populations. This latter quasi-stability results from the alignment of bacteria into lanes, forcing cells to grow toward the open ends of the channel, with inter-lane invasion events driving the boundary dynamics between populations. Here we apply agent-based (AB) simulations to explore the boundary dynamics between dual-bacterial populations of varying morphology and division rate. We find that the simulated boundary dynamics are well-described by a simple drift-diffusion model, which enables us to estimate the mean time to fixation within competitive scenarios where the fixation time is difficult to access by AB simulations. Coccus-like cells display a competitive advantage over bacillus cells as they can more effectively invade and ultimately fixate, while coexisting populations of bacillus cells are "effectively" stable. And while faster-dividing cells should have a selective advantage, their morphology determines if this advantage drives fixation or acts as a defensive strategy to maintain their population. These findings highlight the critical role that cell morphology and mechanics play in shaping bacterial communities.