ArticlePLoS computational biology2026
The interplay between ecological networks drives host-plasmid community dynamics.
Article in PLoS computational biology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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.
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.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Plasmids drive evolution by transferring traits across microbial hosts. Transmission depends on both host-plasmid (infection) and plasmid-plasmid (compatibility) interactions, yet how the structure of these networks shapes transmission remains poorly understood. We hypothesized that these two ecological networks interact in non-additive ways to influence community outcomes. To test this, we developed a stochastic agent-based model that embeds both network structures and simulates coupled host-plasmid dynamics. We systematically varied the structure of each network, both individually and in combination, to isolate the effect of structure on host-plasmid dynamics. A modular (interactions organized into clusters) and hub (interactions concentrated on the highly connected) plasmid-plasmid compatibility network promoted transient host coexistence, while a modular host-plasmid infection network promoted plasmid diversity and stable host coexistence. Importantly, structured networks interacted non-additively, and their impact was most apparent when plasmid carriage imposed a moderate fitness cost on hosts. For example, combining a modular infection network with a hub compatibility network reversed the expected plasmid prevalence patterns, demonstrating that the structure of one network can counteract the effects of the other. We further re-parameterized our model to recapitulate empirical host-plasmid community dynamics, showing that infection network structure can strongly shape plasmid prevalence even in the presence of substantial biological heterogeneity. Our results highlight the necessity of jointly considering host-plasmid infection and plasmid-plasmid compatibility networks to understand host-plasmid community dynamics and their eco-evolutionary potential. More broadly, this work provides an initial mechanistic framework for generating testable hypotheses and underscores that systems involving multiple hosts and infectious agents require explicit consideration of how different ecological networks interact to shape community dynamics.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.