Publications
Multifactorial diversity sustains microbial community stability
Erkus, O.; de Jager, V.C.L.; Spus, M.; van Alen-Boerrigter, I.J.; van Rijswijck, I.M.H.; Hazelwood, L.; Janssen, P.W.; van Hijum, S.A.F.T.; Kleerebezem, M.; Smid, E.J.
Summary
Maintenance of a high degree of biodiversity in homogeneous environments is poorly understood. A complex cheese starter culture with a long history of use was characterized as a model system to study simple microbial communities. Eight distinct genetic lineages were identified, encompassing two species: Lactococcus lactis and Leuconostoc mesenteroides. The genetic lineages were found to be collections of strains with variable plasmid content and phage sensitivities. Kill-the-winner hypothesis explaining the suppression of the fittest strains by density-dependent phage predation was operational at the strain level. This prevents the eradication of entire genetic lineages from the community during propagation regimes (back-slopping), stabilizing the genetic heterogeneity in the starter culture against environmental uncertainty