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Evolution of species interactions in a biofilm community

Author

Listed:
  • Susse Kirkelund Hansen

    (The Technical University of Denmark)

  • Paul B. Rainey

    (University of Auckland)

  • Janus A. J. Haagensen

    (The Technical University of Denmark)

  • Søren Molin

    (The Technical University of Denmark)

Abstract

In it together Biofilms are specialized environments where communities of microorganisms are insulated from the outside world by an extracellular polymer matrix that they themselves secrete. The resulting microbial mats have been compared to tropical rainforests in terms of complexity and biodiversity. Selective pressures on such biofilms are likely to demand intense interactions between the individual bacteria, and an experiment with a simple community of two species (soil dwellers Pseudomonas putida and Acinetobacter sp.) shows just how close that relationship is. The physical structure of the community altered, to the mutual benefit of both species, as a result of a simple mutation in the genome of one of the species. In the absence of a partner the mutation (in P. putida) would have been deleterious. This system demonstrates the importance of interspecies interactions, and may be useful in work on the evolution of these interactions.

Suggested Citation

  • Susse Kirkelund Hansen & Paul B. Rainey & Janus A. J. Haagensen & Søren Molin, 2007. "Evolution of species interactions in a biofilm community," Nature, Nature, vol. 445(7127), pages 533-536, February.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:445:y:2007:i:7127:d:10.1038_nature05514
    DOI: 10.1038/nature05514
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    Cited by:

    1. Pablo Lechón-Alonso & Tom Clegg & Jacob Cook & Thomas P Smith & Samraat Pawar, 2021. "The role of competition versus cooperation in microbial community coalescence," PLOS Computational Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(11), pages 1-16, November.
    2. Conrado Carrascosa & Dele Raheem & Fernando Ramos & Ariana Saraiva & António Raposo, 2021. "Microbial Biofilms in the Food Industry—A Comprehensive Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-31, February.

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