A. Buckling

Disturbances can facilitate prior invasions more than subsequent invasions in microbial communities

This study shows that invading microbial communities immediately after a disturbance increases invader success but decreases resident diversity, while pre-disturbance invasions have greater overall success and community impact.

Parallel ecological and evolutionary responses to selection in a natural bacterial community

The paper tracks ecological and evolutionary changes in a bacterial community under copper stress, finding that siderophore production converges at intermediate levels through both species sorting and evolution.

Estimates of community stability using the invasion criterion are robust across levels of invader species richness

The paper tests if community stability estimates based on single-species invasions are robust when multiple species are invaded simultaneously in a microbial community.

Microbial community structure is affected by phage-resistance associated increases in host density

The paper shows that phage resistance in Variovorax sp. increases host density, altering microbial community structure by reducing conspecific density.

Copper reduces the virulence of bacterial communities at environmentally relevant concentrations

This study shows that high copper concentrations reduce bacterial community virulence but also decrease diversity and productivity in wastewater influent communities.

Testing for the fitness benefits of natural transformation during community-embedded evolution

The paper tests if natural transformation provides fitness benefits in community-embedded evolution but finds no significant effect on fitness.

The host phylogeny determines viral infectivity and replication across Staphylococcus host species

This study shows that host phylogeny explains variation in susceptibility to a bacteriophage across Staphylococcus species.

The effect of metal remediation on the virulence and antimicrobial resistance of the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa

This study tests if liming reduces co-selection for antibiotic resistance and virulence in Pseudomonas aeruginosa in metal-contaminated environments, finding that liming reduces metal resistance selection but not antibiotic resistance or virulence.

Antimicrobial resistance genes predict plasmid generalism and network structure in wastewater

The paper uses Hi-C data to show AMR-carrying plasmids form more connected networks than non-AMR plasmids, enhancing AMR gene spread.

Copper selects for siderophore-mediated virulence in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

This study shows that copper exposure increases pyoverdine production and virulence in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, linking metal stress to bacterial virulence.

Parallel evolution of phage resistance - virulence trade - offs during in vitro and nasal Pseudomonas aeruginosa phage treatment

The paper investigates phage resistance evolution in Pseudomonas aeruginosa during in vitro and nasal treatments, finding similar resistance dynamics and reduced virulence in resistant strains.

The impact of invader number on whole community invasions in biomethane-producing communities

This study examines how invader frequency affects community invasion in methanogenic systems, finding that invasion success does not correlate with functional changes.

Increased copy number couples the evolution of plasmid horizontal transmission and antibiotic resistance.

This study shows that plasmids can evolve higher transfer rates and antibiotic resistance when exposed to susceptible hosts, driven by mutations in the copA gene that increase copy number.

Experimental multi-species microbial (co)evolution results in local maladaptation

The paper co-evolves five microbial species in polycultures and monocultures, finding local maladaptation where evolved species show reduced growth in their evolved communities.

Characterising a stable five-species microbial community for use in experimental evolution and ecology.

The paper reports the stable coexistence of a five-species microbial community derived from soil microbes, demonstrating long-term stability and species identification through plate morphologies.

Resident microbial communities inhibit growth and antibiotic resistance evolution of Escherichia coli in human gut microbiome samples

This study shows that resident gut microbial communities suppress growth and prevent antibiotic resistance evolution in E. coli, even when resistance genes are present in the community.

Transient CRISPR immunity leads to coexistence with phages

This study shows that CRISPR-based immunity in bacteria is transient, leading to stable coexistence with phages due to fitness costs and loss of spacers.

Spatial heterogeneity of an ecologically relevant environment accelerates diversification and adaptation.

The paper shows that spatial heterogeneity in soil compost promotes phenotypic diversification and accelerates adaptation in Pseudomonas fluorescens.

Short-term evolution under copper stress increases probability of plasmid uptake

The paper shows that copper stress-induced evolution increases plasmid uptake probability in microbial clones.

Temperature-dependent changes to host-parasite interactions alter the thermal performance of a bacterial host.

The study examines how temperature-dependent changes in a host-parasite interaction affect the thermal performance curve of a bacterial host.

Selection for antibiotic resistance is reduced when embedded in a natural microbial community

This study shows that antibiotic resistance selection is significantly reduced in natural microbial communities compared to single-species cultures.

Targeting antibiotic resistant bacteria with phages reduces bacterial density in an insect host

This study shows that phage therapy can reduce bacterial density in an insect gut when combined with antibiotics, but does not lower the frequency of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Anthropogenic remediation of heavy metals selects against natural microbial remediation

The paper shows that liming acidic soils to remediate heavy metals reduces metal availability but selects against microbial taxa that naturally scavenge metals via siderophores.

Plasmid transfer is biased towards close kin in bacteria from natural populations.

The paper examines plasmid transfer rates between Escherichia coli isolates and finds that transfer is biased towards genetically similar clones, likely due to shared restriction-modification systems.

Universal metabolic constraints on the thermal tolerance of marine phytoplankton

This study shows that thermal tolerance in marine phytoplankton is constrained by universal metabolic patterns where respiration is more temperature-sensitive than photosynthesis, leading to reduced carbon-use efficiency and growth at higher temperatures.

NOVEL INSIGHTS INTO SELECTION FOR ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE IN COMPLEX MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES

The paper shows antibiotic resistance selection strength remains constant across a wide concentration range in complex microbial communities, challenging the dose-dependent assumption.

Anti-CRISPR phages cooperate to overcome CRISPR-Cas immunity

The paper shows that Acr-phages cooperate to overcome CRISPR-Cas immunity, with phage density and CRISPR resistance levels affecting their epidemiology.

Environmental fluctuations accelerate molecular evolution of thermal tolerance in a marine diatom

This study shows that marine diatoms can rapidly adapt to warming, especially in fluctuating environments, through genomic and phenotypic changes.

Ecological selection of siderophore-producing microbial taxa in response to heavy metal contamination

The paper examines how heavy metal contamination influences siderophore production in microbial communities, finding increased production in contaminated environments.

Thermal adaptation constrains the temperature dependence of ecosystem metabolism

The paper shows that thermal adaptation reduces the temperature sensitivity of ecosystem metabolism in geothermally heated streams, with GPP rates independent of temperature after accounting for biomass differences.