Promotion of plasmid maintenance by heterogeneous partitioning of microbial communities.

ABSTRACT: Transferable plasmids play a critical role in shaping the functions of microbial communities. Previous studies suggested multiple mechanisms underlying plasmid persistence and abundance. Here, we focus on the interplay between heterogeneous community partitioning and plasmid fates. Natural microbiomes often experience partitioning that creates heterogeneous local communities with reduced population sizes and biodiversity. Little is known about how population partitioning affects the plasmid fate through the modulation of community structure. By modeling and experiments, we show that heterogeneous community partitioning can paradoxically promote the persistence of a plasmid that would otherwise not persist in a global community. Among the local communities created by partitioning, a minorit

SUBMITTER: Weiss A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10591896 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature