The effect of Type VI secretion on the development of V.fischeri populations in vitro

Type VI secretion is a contact-dependent killing mechanism used by many gram-negative bacteria. Some strains of V.fischeri, a bioluminescent bacterium known to colonize the Hawaiian Bobtail squid, contain genes that encode for proteins that form the Type VI secretion system. This project further studies the ring phenotype previously observed in competitions between strains containing and lacking the genes for the Type VI mechanism, as well as determining a method to measure these competitions and rings.