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Abstract:
Bacteria co-exist in complex polymicrobial communities. The composition and
functionality of such communities are partially determined by interactions between
the community members. Microorganisms engage in positive and negative
interactions, which can be contact-dependent or contact-independent, depending on
the environment. While there is a lot of research on interspecies interactions between
clinically relevant microorganisms, there is little understanding of intraspecific
bacteria-bacteria interactions. To address this knowledge gap, I conducted
experiments to test intraspecific interactions between 12 diverse Pseudomonas
aeruginosa isolates and compared how these interactions change based on the
interaction environment. I find that negative interactions, particularly competition, are
common among P. aeruginosa isolates, and the outcomes of pairwise interactions are
highly dependent on the conditions in which they are tested. Notably, my data show
that pairwise bacteria-bacteria interactions cannot predict community structure in the
interaction network. This indicates that the dynamic of polymicrobial communities is
more complex than the sum of pairwise interactions between involved isolates.
Considering the clinical significance of P. aeruginosa, our knowledge of the
interactions between microorganisms of this species might be used for novel
therapeutic approaches to treat bacterial infections.
