Microbial Competition in Polar Soils: A Review of an Understudied but Potentially Important Control on Productivity

Intermicrobial competition is known to occur in many natural environments, and can result from direct conflict between organisms, or from differential rates of growth, colonization, and/or nutrient acquisition. It has been difficult to extensively examine intermicrobial competition in situ, but thes...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biology
Main Authors: Charles W. Greer, Terrence H. Bell, Katrina L. Callender, Lyle G. Whyte
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2013
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3390/biology2020533
https://doaj.org/article/b76250ac823c4595a022c20b778edfbf
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Summary:Intermicrobial competition is known to occur in many natural environments, and can result from direct conflict between organisms, or from differential rates of growth, colonization, and/or nutrient acquisition. It has been difficult to extensively examine intermicrobial competition in situ, but these interactions may play an important role in the regulation of the many biogeochemical processes that are tied to microbial communities in polar soils. A greater understanding of how competition influences productivity will improve projections of gas and nutrient flux as the poles warm, may provide biotechnological opportunities for increasing the degradation of contaminants in polar soil, and will help to predict changes in communities of higher organisms, such as plants.