Alternative Actions for Antibiotics

摘要

Microbes generate signals, which coordinate mutually beneficial activities (1). They also produce antibiotics that kill prey, suppress competitors, or deter predators (2). Recent observations have led to the view that antibiotics often act as mutually beneficial signals (3—6). Exposure to sublethal concentrations of antibiotics can indeed alter microbial metabolism and even change behavior in beneficial ways, triggering reactions such as fleeing or hiding within the protective environment of a microbial aggregate (biofilm).