ArticlePLoS biology2024
Killer prey: Ecology reverses bacterial predation.
Article in PLoS biology, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed.
- Predation in microbial communities: gradients of nutritive killing.Nature reviews. Microbiology · 2026Review
- From microbes to animals: a review on prey choice and prey-predator dynamics across organismal scales.FEMS microbiology reviews · 2026Review
- Milestones in the development ofJournal of bacteriology · 2025Review
- Competition and cooperation: The plasticity of bacterial interactions across environments.PLoS computational biology · 2025Article
- Hydration conditions as a critical factor in antibiotic-mediated bacterial competition outcomes.Applied and environmental microbiology · 2025Article
- Ecological histories govern social exploitation by microorganisms.The ISME journal · 2025Article
- Temperature structuring of microbial communities on a global scale.Current opinion in microbiology · 2024Review
- Siderophores and competition for iron govern myxobacterial predation dynamics.The ISME journal · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Ecological variation influences the character of many biotic interactions, but examples of predator-prey reversal mediated by abiotic context are few. We show that the temperature at which prey grow before interacting with a bacterial predator can determine the very direction of predation, reversing predator and prey identities. While Pseudomonas fluorescens reared at 32°C was extensively killed by the generalist predator Myxococcus xanthus, P. fluorescens reared at 22°C became the predator, slaughtering M. xanthus to extinction and growing on its remains. Beyond M. xanthus, diffusible molecules in P. fluorescens supernatant also killed 2 other phylogenetically distant species among several examined. Our results suggest that the sign of lethal microbial antagonisms may often change across abiotic gradients in natural microbial communities, with important ecological and evolutionary implications. They also suggest that a larger proportion of microbial warfare results in predation-the killing and consumption of organisms-than is generally recognized.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.