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An experimental model for the spatial structuring and selection of bacterial communities
Citation
Thomas, T and Kindinger, I and Yu, D and Esvaran, M and Blackall, L and Forehead, HI and Johnson, CR and Manefield, M, An experimental model for the spatial structuring and selection of bacterial communities, Journal of Microbiological Methods, 87, (2) pp. 165-168. ISSN 0167-7012 (2011) [Refereed Article]
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DOI: doi:10.1016/j.mimet.2011.08.010
Abstract
Community-level selection is an important concept in evolutionary biology and has been predicted to arise in
systems that are spatially structured. Here we develop an experimental model for spatially-structured bacterial
communities based on coaggregating strains and test their relative fitness under a defined selection pressure.
As selection we apply protozoan grazing in a defined, continuous culturing system. We demonstrate
that a slow-growing bacterial strain Blastomonas natatoria 2.1, which forms coaggregates with Micrococcus
luteus, can outcompete a fast-growing, closely related strain Blastomonas natatoria 2.8 under conditions of
protozoan grazing. The competitive benefit provided by spatial structuring has implications for the evolution
of natural bacterial communities in the environment.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Refereed Article |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | Community, Spatial structure, Coaggregation, Protozoan grazing |
| Research Division: | Biological Sciences |
| Research Group: | Ecology |
| Research Field: | Community ecology (excl. invasive species ecology) |
| Objective Division: | Expanding Knowledge |
| Objective Group: | Expanding knowledge |
| Objective Field: | Expanding knowledge in the biological sciences |
| UTAS Author: | Forehead, HI (Dr Hugh Forehead) |
| UTAS Author: | Johnson, CR (Professor Craig Johnson) |
| ID Code: | 76602 |
| Year Published: | 2011 |
| Web of Science® Times Cited: | 2 |
| Deposited By: | IMAS Research and Education Centre |
| Deposited On: | 2012-03-08 |
| Last Modified: | 2017-11-03 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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