%A Jayathilake,Pahala G. %A Jana,Saikat %A Rushton,Steve %A Swailes,David %A Bridgens,Ben %A Curtis,Tom %A Chen,Jinju %D 2017 %J Frontiers in Microbiology %C %F %G English %K Individual-based model,Biofilm,EPS,Quorum Sensing,competition,aggregates %Q %R 10.3389/fmicb.2017.01865 %W %L %M %P %7 %8 2017-September-27 %9 Original Research %+ Pahala G. Jayathilake,School of Engineering, Newcastle University,United Kingdom,jayathilake.pahala-gedara@ncl.ac.uk %+ Steve Rushton,School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University,United Kingdom,steven.rushton@newcastle.ac.uk %+ Prof Tom Curtis,Centre for Synthetic Biology and the Bioeconomy, Newcastle University,United Kingdom,tom.curtis@newcastle.ac.uk %+ Jinju Chen,School of Engineering, Newcastle University,United Kingdom,jinju.chen@newcastle.ac.uk %# %! EPS-mediated competition in biofilms %* %< %T Extracellular Polymeric Substance Production and Aggregated Bacteria Colonization Influence the Competition of Microbes in Biofilms %U https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2017.01865 %V 8 %0 JOURNAL ARTICLE %@ 1664-302X %X The production of extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) is important for the survival of biofilms. However, EPS production is costly for bacteria and the bacterial strains that produce EPS (EPS+) grow in the same environment as non-producers (EPS−) leading to competition between these strains for nutrients and space. The outcome of this competition is likely to be dependent on factors such as initial attachment, EPS production rate, ambient nutrient levels and quorum sensing. We use an Individual-based Model (IbM) to study the competition between EPS+ and EPS− strains by varying the nature of initial colonizers which can either be in the form of single cells or multicellular aggregates. The microbes with EPS+ characteristics obtain a competitive advantage if they initially colonize the surface as smaller aggregates and are widely spread-out between the cells of EPS−, when both are deposited on the substratum. Furthermore, the results show that quorum sensing-regulated EPS production may significantly reduce the fitness of EPS producers when they initially deposit as aggregates. The results provide insights into how the distribution of bacterial aggregates during initial colonization could be a deciding factor in the competition among different strains in biofilms.