Coexistence rules for small, antagonistically interacting microbial communities.

ABSTRACT: The coexistence of diverse microbial communities despite the common presence of antimicrobial weapons presents a fundamental puzzle in ecology. To address this issue, we investigate the role of antibiotic-mediated interactions in driving microbial diversity using methods from graph theory and theoretical ecology. Our exhaustive analysis of small interaction graphs involving antibiotic production, resistance, and degradation reveals that two factors together determine whether an interaction pattern can support coexistence or not: a certain producer-sensitive-degrader (PSD) motif is critical, and a form of cyclicity between the action of different antibiotics is necessary. Using individual-based simulations, we also explore the role of the PSD motif in spatially structured populations and de

SUBMITTER: Athreya GS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12697945 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature