Predicting community dynamics of antibiotic-sensitive and -resistant species in fluctuating environments.

ABSTRACT: Microbes occupy almost every niche within and on their human hosts. Whether colonizing the gut, mouth or bloodstream, microorganisms face temporal fluctuations in resources and stressors within their niche but we still know little of how environmental fluctuations mediate certain microbial phenotypes, notably antimicrobial-resistant ones. For instance, do rapid or slow fluctuations in nutrient and antimicrobial concentrations select for, or against, resistance? We tackle this question using an ecological approach by studying the dynamics of a synthetic and pathogenic microbial community containing two species, one sensitive and the other resistant to an antibiotic drug where the community is exposed to different rates of environmental fluctuation. We provide mathematical models, supported

SUBMITTER: Nev OA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7276547 | biostudies-literature | 2020 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature