Antibiotics as chemical warfare across multiple taxonomic domains and trophic levels in brown food webs
| Autor: | Annika Salzberg, Evan M. Gora, Jane M. Lucas, Michael Kaspari |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2019 |
| Předmět: |
Food Chain
media_common.quotation_subject Context (language use) Biology General Biochemistry Genetics and Molecular Biology Competition (biology) 03 medical and health sciences Environmental Microbiology Animals Ecosystem 030304 developmental biology General Environmental Science Invertebrate media_common Trophic level 0303 health sciences General Immunology and Microbiology Bacteria Ecology Detritivore 04 agricultural and veterinary sciences General Medicine Invertebrates Food web Anti-Bacterial Agents Predatory Behavior 040103 agronomy & agriculture 0401 agriculture forestry and fisheries General Agricultural and Biological Sciences Microcosm |
| Zdroj: | Proc Biol Sci |
| ISSN: | 1471-2954 |
| Popis: | Bacteria and fungi secrete antibiotics to suppress and kill other microbes, but can these compounds be agents of competition against macroorganisms? We explore how one competitive tactic, antibiotic production, can structure the composition and function of brown food webs. This aspect of warfare between microbes and invertebrates is particularly important today as antibiotics are introduced into ecosystems via anthropogenic activities, but the ecological implications of these introductions are largely unknown. We hypothesized that antimicrobial compounds act as agents of competition against invertebrate and microbial competitors. Using field-like mesocosms, we tested how antifungal and antibacterial compounds influence microbes, invertebrates, and decomposition in the brown food web. Both antibiotics changed prokaryotic microbial community composition, but only the antibacterial changed invertebrate composition. Antibacterials reduced the abundance of invertebrate detritivores by 34%. However, the addition of antimicrobials did not ramify up the food web as predator abundances were unaffected. Decomposition rates did not change. To test the mechanisms of antibiotic effects, we provided antibiotic-laden water to individual invertebrate detritivores in separate microcosm experiments. We found that the antibiotic compounds can directly harm invertebrate taxa, probably through a disruption of endosymbionts. Combined, our results show that antibiotic compounds could be an effective weapon for microbes to compete against both microbial and invertebrate competitors. In the context of human introductions, the detrimental effects of antibiotics on invertebrate communities indicates that the scope of this anthropogenic disturbance is much greater than previously expected. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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