Competitive dominance of antibiotic-producing marine bacteria in mixed cultures.
Competitive relationships between antibiotic-producing marine bacteria and other non-producers were studied in seawater mixed cultures. Producer strains showed a competitive advantage against non-producers as the latter were inhibited after a short time. Inhibition was also noted in mixed cultures of two producer strains. The inhibitory effect was not observed in a mixed culture with two non-producers, which indicates that an amensalist interaction occurred between populations of antibiotic-producing and non-producing marine bacteria. The results suggest that antibiotics could play an important role in the competitive relationships between marine bacterial populations.
Lemos
M L
ML
Departamento de Microbiologia y Parasitologia, Universidad de Santiago, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Dopazo
C P
CP
Toranzo
A E
AE
Barja
J L
JL
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D012623:Seawater; D014871:Water Microbiology
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents