Stable coexistence and transport of lytic phage infections with migrating bacterial hosts.

Spatial interactions enable stable coexistence and long-range transport of virulent phages with migrating bacterial hosts, as demonstrated across multiple systems.

• Why it matters: Understanding how phages and bacteria coexist long-term is crucial because in well-mixed environments, phage lysis often leads to resistant mutants and population collapse, leaving a gap in ecological knowledge.
• What they did: The study used theory, simulation, and experiments to investigate phage-bacteria systems, revealing a chemotaxis-driven mechanism that stabilizes coexistence and dispersal of virulent phages with migrating hosts.
• The result: Findings suggest spatial interaction mechanisms can reinforce stability between antagonistic bacteria and phages, potentially applicable broadly across phage-bacteria systems without ongoing defense cycles.