Antibiosis: definition and examples

The term antibiosis is used to define any interaction that occurs between two organisms of different species, in which one of them is harmful and harmful to the other, since it produces a substance that is harmful to the other species. It is, therefore, a biological interaction in which there is no possibility of survival at the same time of certain organisms in the vicinity of others. The harmful effect of all antibiosis is due to the action of a harmful chemical produced by the body that wants to end its competition. This substance is called an antibiotic .

In the next section we will see in more detail different examples of antibiosis that occur in nature, as well as some of the most common and striking antibiotics.

Both in nature and in laboratories, various antibiosis processes lead to the generation of new and complex antibiotics. These substances are capable of paralyzing development or causing death to those microorganisms that are potentially pathogenic, having bacteriostatic or bactericidal action, respectively.

We see below some of the examples of antibiosis between organisms of different groups and species, both between animals and higher plants, and microorganisms:

• The Penicillium fungus secretes a harmful substance that prevents the life of other microorganisms around it.
• Numerous and diverse insects and host plants that these feed on.
• Bacteria such as Erwinia amylovora when attacking pear (genus Pyrus) and apple ( Malus domestica ) trees
• Relationship between humans, livestock and poultry with different disease-causing pathogens, such as bacteria of the Bacillus, Streptomyces and Pseudomonas genera, as well as various types of fungi : Candida oleophila , Gliocaldium and Tricoderma genera, Myrothecium verrucaria and Ampelomyces quisqualis.

As we have already mentioned, antibiotics are very present in nature and not only in laboratories that produce medicines. In this other AgroCorrn article you can find out which are the best natural antibiotics .

Thanks to the “memory” of the different antibodies that make up the immune system of organisms, they are capable of effectively recognizing the presence of bacteria and pathogens that have previously infected the body of the affected animal or plant; thus generating, over time, resistance to the antibiotic used by the competing pathogen.

In this way, both humans and other animals and plants that are affected by antibiotics from insects and other plants, we have developed various resistance to harmful chemicals that served to kill pathogenic bacteria.

For this reason, the world of antibiosis and antibiotics is constantly “reinventing” itself, as if it were a marathon of resistance, challenging pathogens and resistance. It is really surprising how these reactions occur in the organisms of animals and plants in an almost intuitive way, adapting to new conditions and risks of pathogenicity and diseases in order to survive.

Learn more about antibiosis and other interspecific relationships, their types and examples with this other AgroCorrn article.

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