Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42140961›Full record

ArticleNature communications2026

Divergence among species with "good competitor" and "good cultivator" strategies promotes asymmetric facilitation among co-invaders.

Chong-Wei Li, Hui-Xuan Liao, Ragan M Callaway, Zhe-Yang Su, Ji-Kai Zou, Ao Liu, Yu-Ru Wu, Yu-Qi Fang, Shao-Lin Peng, Bao-Ming Chen

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Chong-Wei Li *State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Stress Biology, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China.ORCID 0000-0002-9950-8757
Hui-Xuan Liao *School of Ecology, Sun Yat-Sen University, Shenzhen, China.ORCID 0000-0003-2999-6545
Ragan M CallawayDivision of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-7342-4312
Zhe-Yang SuState Key Laboratory of Biocontrol and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Stress Biology, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Ji-Kai ZouState Key Laboratory of Biocontrol and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Stress Biology, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Ao LiuState Key Laboratory of Biocontrol and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Stress Biology, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Yu-Ru WuState Key Laboratory of Biocontrol and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Stress Biology, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Yu-Qi FangState Key Laboratory of Biocontrol and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Stress Biology, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Shao-Lin PengState Key Laboratory of Biocontrol and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Stress Biology, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Bao-Ming ChenState Key Laboratory of Biocontrol and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Stress Biology, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China. chenbaom@mail.sysu.edu.cn.ORCID 0000-0003-1891-8752

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 32471739Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province (Guangdong Natural Science Foundation) 2023A1515010669
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Facilitative interactions among co-invaders may lead to invasional meltdown, accelerating non-native species accumulation and exacerbating ecological impacts over time. However, it remains unclear why certain non-native combinations promote facilitation while others do not, and may even constrain invasions. To address this question, we examine six invasive species in the Asteraceae family along two strategic dimensions: competitiveness and capacity to cultivate invader-promoting microbial communities. We then create experimental combinations to mix "good competitors" and "good cultivators" to varying degrees to form a "strategic divergence" gradient. We hypothesize greater strategic divergences generate more intense facilitations, whereas similar strategies generate inhibitions. Strategic divergence correlates with facilitation, but interactions are asymmetric: strong competitive suppressors of natives benefit from co-invasions with weaker competitors that cultivate favorable microbial environments but the performance of the latter are generally suppressed by the strong competitors. Metagenomic sequencing further indicates that good cultivators may promote facilitation by repelling pathogens (Ascomycota) and deterring microbes that might be exclusively beneficial for natives (Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Planctomycetota). Our results provide empirical evidence for the importance of strategic divergence among invasive species and offer a mechanistic basis for predicting which combinations of co-invading species might generate facilitation and which might result in inhibition.

Indexed as

AsteraceaeIntroduced SpeciesBacteriaEcosystemMicrobiotaSpecies Specificity

Identifiers

PMID42140961
PMCPMC13212657

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.