Metabolic and demographic feedbacks shape the emergent spatial structure and function of microbial communities.

ABSTRACT: Microbes are predominantly found in surface-attached and spatially structured polymicrobial communities. Within these communities, microbial cells excrete a wide range of metabolites, setting the stage for interspecific metabolic interactions. The links, however, between metabolic and ecological interactions (functional relationships), and species spatial organization (structural relationships) are still poorly understood. Here, we use an individual-based modelling framework to simulate the growth of a two-species surface-attached community where food (resource) is traded for detoxification (service) and investigate how metabolic constraints of individual species shape the emergent structural and functional relationships of the community. We show that strong metabolic interdependence drive

SUBMITTER: Estrela S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3873226 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature