Antibiose

Antibiose is a biological interaction in which the growth, survival, or reproduction of one organism is inhibited or harmed by substances produced by another. It commonly involves antimicrobial compounds such as antibiotics, bacteriocins, or degrading enzymes that diffuse through the environment to affect rival species. Antibiosis is distinguished from direct predation or simple competition by the chemical interference it imposes.

In bacteria and fungi, antibiosis is often mediated by secondary metabolites that inhibit or kill neighboring microbes. These compounds can be produced constitutively or induced by environmental stress and may create clear zones of inhibition around producing organisms. The phenomenon can influence nutrient sharing, niche occupation, and community structure in microbial ecosystems.

Ecologically, antibiosis helps shape microbial communities in soils, water, and plant-associated habitats. It can suppress pathogens, promote plant health, and modulate symbiotic relationships. Over evolutionary time, antibiosis drives selective pressures and contributes to the development of resistance mechanisms in target organisms.

Examples and applications include antibiotics such as those produced by Streptomyces species (for example, streptomycin) and penicillin from Penicillium species. Bacteriocins produced by lactic acid bacteria and lipopeptides from Bacillus or Pseudomonas species illustrate antibiosis in food preservation and biocontrol. In medicine and agriculture, antibiosis underpins antimicrobial therapies and strategies to manage pests and diseases through biological control.

The term antibiose is often used interchangeably with antibiosis, though distinctions may arise in specific biological contexts.