10.07.2020The Kümmerli group shows how biotic and abiotic factors affect competitive dynamics between co-infecting human pathogens

Although bacterial communities in infections are typically diverse, little is known about how ecology affects inter-pathogen competition. Here, ecological theory was applied to understand how biotic and abiotic factors affect interaction patterns between two human pathogens that often co-occur in polymicrobial infections: Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphyloccocus aureus. This study revealed that ecological details such as strain background, species frequency and environmental conditions play important roles in the competitive dynamics between these co-infecting pathogens, suggesting that to truly understand polymicrobial infections, an integrative approach combining molecular and ecological aspects is essential.

See Niggli & Kümmerli, Applied & Environmental Microbiology