Global microbial community biodiversity increases with antimicrobial toxin abundance of rare taxa.

ABSTRACT: One of the central questions in microbial ecology is how to explain the high biodiversity of communities. A large number of rare taxa in the community have not been excluded by abundant taxa with competitive advantages, a contradiction known as the biodiversity paradox. Recently, increasing evidence has revealed the central importance of antimicrobial toxins as crucial weapons of antagonism in microbial survival. The powerful effects of antimicrobial toxins result in simple combinations of microorganisms failing to coexist under laboratory conditions, but it is unclear whether they also have a negative impact on the biodiversity of natural communities. Here, we revealed that microbial communities worldwide universally possess functional potential for antimicrobial toxin production. Counter

SUBMITTER: Liu Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11822679 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature