Competitive dominance of antibiotic‐producing marine bacteria in mixed cultures

Abstract

M.L. LEMOS. C.P. DOPAZO, ALICIA E. TORANZO AND J. L. BARJA. 1991. Competitive relationships between antibiotic‐producing marine bacteria and other non‐producers were studied in seawater mixed cultures. Producer strains showed a competitive advantage against non‐producers as the latter were inhibited after a short time. Inhibition was also noted in mixed cultures of two producer strains. The inhibitory effect was not observed in a mixed culture with two non‐producers, which indicates that an amensalist interaction occurred between populations of antibiotic‐producing and non‐producing marine bacteria. The results suggest that antibiotics could play an important role in the competitive relationships between marine bacterial populations.