ABSTRACT
This chapter concerns the interactions between bacterial species, and includes some discussion of how the growth of other types of microorganisms affect bacterial growth. The phenomenon of competition between different species is frequently studied by ecologists. This interest probably stems from the importance, stressed by Darwin, of competition in the natural selection of species. In order to show that two species have no effect on one another, it must be demonstrated that the growth of the populations of the two species is the same in either axenic or mixed cultures. A successful invasion of an established ecosystem by a small population of an antibiotic-producing species is unlikely to be brought about by amensalism. Many bacteria produce substances that the growth of other species. Such a phenomenon is probably the most widespread form of commensalism. The chapter discusses different types of microbial interrelationships in the light of published data obtained from laboratory experiments.
