Antibiotics as chemical warfare across multiple taxonomic domains and trophic levels in brown food webs.

ABSTRACT: Bacteria and fungi secrete antibiotics to suppress and kill other microbes, but can these compounds be agents of competition against macroorganisms? We explore how one competitive tactic, antibiotic production, can structure the composition and function of brown food webs. This aspect of warfare between microbes and invertebrates is particularly important today as antibiotics are introduced into ecosystems via anthropogenic activities, but the ecological implications of these introductions are largely unknown. We hypothesized that antimicrobial compounds act as agents of competition against invertebrate and microbial competitors. Using field-like mesocosms, we tested how antifungal and antibacterial compounds influence microbes, invertebrates, and decomposition in the brown food web. Both

SUBMITTER: Lucas JM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6784713 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature