Ecological succession in long-term experimentally evolved biofilms produces synergistic communities.

ABSTRACT: Many biofilm populations are known for their exceptional biodiversity, but the relative contributions of the forces that could produce this diversity are poorly understood. This uncertainty grows in the old, well-established communities found on many natural surfaces and in long-term, chronic infections. If the prevailing interactions among species within biofilms are positive, productivity should increase with diversity, but if they tend towards competition or antagonism, productivity should decrease. Here, we describe the parallel evolution of synergistic communities derived from a clone of Burkholderia cenocepacia during ~1500 generations of biofilm selection. This long-term evolution was enabled by a new experimental method that selects for daily cycles of colonization, biofilm assembl

SUBMITTER: Poltak SR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3105725 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature