Fig. 1: Context dependent toxicity of B. subtilis towards competing Bacillus species.
a Average nucleotide identity (ANI) of indicated Bacillus species compared with WT B. subtilis and their terrestrial habitats51,52,97,98. b Toxicity of WT B. subtilis towards indicated Bacilli was evaluated. Biofilm cells were harvested at 48 h post inoculation and colony-forming units (CFU) were calculated alone, and during co-inoculation. Arbitrary Units (arb. units) for toxicity were determined as the ratio of Bacilli CFU in isolation /CFU in competition against WT B. subtilis: Colonies of each strain were easily distinguishable. Graphs represent mean ± SD from three independent experiments (n = 9). Statistical analysis was performed using one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s multiple comparison post hoc testing. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Significant differences between the toxicity towards WT B. subtilis and toxicity towards indicated Bacilli, when competed against WT B. subtilis are shown by their respective p values. Dashed Line: The maximal toxicity exhibited by WT B. subtilis. c Shown is the indicated biofilm colony grown in isolation versus indicated biofilm colony grown in proximity to WT B. subtilis colony (below). Colony biofilms were inoculated at 0.4 cm apart and grown on B4 medium at 30 °C. Images are from representative experiment performed in triplicates out of three independent experiments. Biofilms colonies were imaged at 48 h post inoculation. Scale bar = 1 mm. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.
