Hypersensitivity of chitin degradation to initial species densities due to monomer diffusion.

ABSTRACT: Resource competition strongly shapes microbial community dynamics and functionality. In polysaccharide-degrading communities, primary degraders release hydrolytic enzymes, whereas exploiters consume released products without producing enzyme themselves. We investigate the competitive strategies employed by marine chitin degraders and N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) exploiters, revealing various mechanisms that impact community viability and growth dynamics. In addition to direct competition strategies such as antibiotic secretion or cell aggregation on chitin particles (which helps monopolize enzyme access), exploiters also inhibit degraders by diverting limiting GlcNAc flux during the early stages of particle degradation. This critical phase requires degraders to overcome the diffusive loss

SUBMITTER: Pontrelli S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12799147 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature