The biology of habitat dominance; can microbes behave as weeds?

作者：Jonathan A. Cray, Andrew N. W. Bell, Prashanth Bhaganna, Allen Y. Mswaka, David J. Timson, John E. Hallsworth · 发表于：Microbial Biotechnology · 年份：2013 · DOI：10.1111/1751-7915.12027 · 被引用次数：269 · 研究领域：Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology、Microbial Natural Products and Biosynthesis、Probiotics and Fermented Foods

Competition between microbial species is a product of, yet can lead to a reduction in, the microbial diversity of specific habitats. Microbial habitats can resemble ecological battlefields where microbial cells struggle to dominate and/or annihilate each other and we explore the hypothesis that (like plant weeds) some microbes are genetically hard-wired to behave in a vigorous and ecologically aggressive manner. These 'microbial weeds' are able to dominate the communities that develop in fertile but uncolonized--or at least partially vacant--habitats via traits enabling them to out-grow competitors; robust tolerances to habitat-relevant stress parameters and highly efficient energy-generation systems; avoidance of or resistance to viral infection, predation and grazers; potent antimicrobial systems; and exceptional abilities to sequester and store resources. In addition, those associated with nutritionally complex habitats are extraordinarily versatile in their utilization of diverse substrates. Weed species typically deploy multiple types of antimicrobial including toxins; volatile organic compounds that act as either hydrophobic or highly chaotropic stressors; biosurfactants; organic acids; and moderately chaotropic solutes that are produced in bulk quantities (e.g. acetone, ethanol). Whereas ability to dominate communities is habitat-specific we suggest that some microbial species are archetypal weeds including generalists such as: Pichia anomala, Acinetobacter spp. and Ps...