The purpose of this web site is to showcase bacterial interactions mediated by the Type VI secretion system.
The simulation, the documentation, and the explanations are under development. Most of this content was generated using Gemini 2.5 Pro. For more details and explanations, use this NotebookLM powered chat. Or listen to a podcast style summary here.
Development of BacFighT6 runs on coffee! If you find it useful, please consider a small donation. Thank you!
Short overview:
This tool provides a dynamic simulation of bacterial warfare, modeling the complex interactions between up to three cell types—Predators, Prey, and Defenders—on a two-dimensional hexagonal grid. The core conflict revolves around the Type VI Secretion System (T6SS), a contact-dependent weapon that bacteria use to inject toxins into neighboring cells and compete for space.
The simulation is designed to explore a wide range of T6SS-mediated phenomena, allowing you to configure and observe:
Cellular Growth and Motility: Cells can replicate to occupy empty adjacent spaces and can actively move around the grid based on configurable parameters.
Quorum Sensing (QS) Regulation: Predator T6SS firing is controlled by a cell density-dependent QS system, making their aggression dependent on their population size.
Diverse T6SS Strategies: The model includes advanced behaviors such as:
Predator chemotaxis towards signals released by Prey cells.
Defender-specific retaliation against attackers.
Predator kin exclusion to avoid friendly fire.
Defensive Mechanisms: Prey can develop a protective capsule in response to their own population density, and cells can have an innate percentage-based chance to resist incoming toxins.
Toxin Effects and Cell Fate: Cells accumulate damage from toxins, which can lead to either growth arrest (cell death) or lysis (cell bursting).
Visual Reporter System: The lysis of Prey cells releases a simulated enzyme (LacZ) that causes a background color change, providing a visual measure of killing efficiency.
By adjusting these and many other parameters (over 90 settings in total), you can set up detailed virtual experiments to investigate the outcomes of bacterial competition.
The code is available on GitHub: https://github.com/BaslerLab/BacFighT6
Please, use this web site for fun and to learn about Type VI secretion system and bacterial interactions but always consult the original scientific literature! Feel free to leave feedback and suggestions!
Have fun with BacFighT6!
Marek