Microbial communities are shaped by positive and negative interactions ranging from
competition to mutualism. In the context of the mammalian gut and its microbial inhabitants …

Marine biofilms are ubiquitous in the marine environment. These complex microbial
communities rapidly respond to environmental changes and encompass hugely diverse …

Microbial communities are composed of cells of varying metabolic capacity, and regularly
include auxotrophs that lack essential metabolic pathways. Through analysis of auxotrophs …

Although virulence is typically attributed to single pathogenic strains, here we investigated
whether effectors secreted by a population of non-virulent strains could function as public …

Cooperation exists across all scales of biological organization, from genetic elements to
complex human societies. Bacteria cooperate by secreting molecules that benefit all …

The human gut microbiota is increasingly recognized as an important factor in modulating
innate and adaptive immunity through release of ligands and metabolites that translocate …

Phosphorus is one of the essential nutrients for plant growth, but it may be relatively
unavailable to plants because of its chemistry. In soil, the majority of phosphorus is present …

Life can be stressful. One way to deal with stress is to simply wait it out. Microbes do this by
entering a state of reduced activity and increased resistance commonly called 'dormancy' …

Biofilms are consortia of microorganisms that form collectives through the excretion of
extracellular matrix compounds. The importance of biofilms in biological, industrial and …

Iron is important for bacterial growth and survival, as it is a common co-factor in essential
enzymes. Although iron is very abundant in the earth crust, its bioavailability is low in most …