Resource availability affects the structure of a natural bacteria-bacteriophage community

Biol Lett. 2011 Apr 23;7(2):201-4. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2010.0774. Epub 2010 Oct 20.

Abstract

Antagonistic networks are known to be structured in the wild, but knowledge on how this structure may change as a response to environmental perturbations is scarce. We describe a natural bipartite network between bacteria and lytic bacteriophages, and investigate how it is affected by environmental productivity in the form of different resource levels for the bacteria. We report that low amounts of resource decrease phage generality and lead to less robust and less stable communities. We discuss how resource levels in nature may alter the structure of complex communities.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Bacteriophages / physiology*
  • Biodiversity
  • Food Chain
  • Host Specificity
  • Pseudomonas fluorescens / virology*
  • Soil Microbiology
  • Vitis / microbiology