Evolutionary arms race between bacteria and their viruses in soil
Wednesday, October 21, 2009 - 04:49
in Biology & Nature
Viruses of soil bacteria (phages) evolve to improve their ability to infect the bacterial hosts that surround them. This is shown in a new study by Dutch researcher Michiel Vos, published in the journal Science. Phages appear to be better able to infect bacteria from the same small soil sample than bacteria from just a few centimetres away. Evolution can therefore restructure ecosystems on a very small scale...