Microorganisms and Biotic Interactions
11
Yvan Moe ¨nne-Loccoz, Patrick Mavingui, Claude Combes,
Philippe Normand, and Christian Steinberg
Abstract
Most ecosystems are populated by a large number of diversified microorganisms, which
interact with one another and form complex interaction networks. In addition, some of these
microorganisms may colonize the surface or internal parts of plants and animals, thereby
providing an additional level of interaction complexity. These microbial relations range
from intraspecific to interspecific interactions, and from simple short-term interactions to
intricate long-term ones. They have played a key role in the formation of plant and animal
kingdoms, often resulting in coevolution; they control the size, activity level, and diversity
patterns of microbial communities. Therefore, they modulate trophic networks and biogeochemical cycles, regulate ecosystem productivity, and determine the ecology and health of
plant and animal partners. A better understanding of these interactions is needed to develop
microbe-based ecological engineering strategies for environmental sustainability and conservation, to improve environment-friendly approaches for feed and food production, and to
address health challenges posed by infectious diseases. The main types of biotic interactions
are presented: interactions between microorganisms, interactions between microorganisms
and plants, and interactions between microorganisms and animals.
Keywords
Agronomy Antagonism Biogeochemical cycles Commensalism Competition
Ecosystem functioning Infectious diseases Parasitism Predation Symbiosis
Trophic networks
11.1 Main Types of Interactions
11.1.1 Interaction: A Key Aspect of Living
Since the end of the era known as prebiotic era, which happened about 3.8 billion years ago, life has existed on earth in
the form of cells, more or less complex in structure and operation, but still built on the same basic pattern (membrane +
cytoplasm + nucleic acids). Conversely, if the pattern has
remained fundamentally the same throughout evolution,
diversification of genetic information – for all kinds of processes and not only by point mutations – has given birth to a
biosphere composed of myriads of different organisms, from
bacteria to the more organized multicellular eukaryotes.
Y. Moe ¨nne-Loccoz* P. Mavingui* (*) P. Normand
Microbial Ecology Center, UMR CNRS 5557 / USC INRA 1364,
Universite ´ Lyon 1, 69622 Villeurbanne, France
e-mail: yvan.moenne-loccoz@univ-lyon1.fr; patrick.mavingui@
univ-lyon1.fr; philippe.normand@univ-lyon1.fr
C. Combes
Member of the Acade ´mie Franc ¸aise des Sciences (French Academy
of Sciences), 16, rue du Vallon, 66000 Perpignan, Paris, France
C. Steinberg
Po ˆle des Interactions Plante-Microorganismes,
INRA UMR 1347 Agroe ´cologie, AgroSup-INRA-Universite ´
de Bourgogne, BP 86510, 21065 Dijon Cedex, France
e-mail: christian.steinberg@dijon.inra.fr
* Chapter Coordinators
J.-C. Bertrand et al. (eds.), Environmental Microbiology: Fundamentals and Applications: Microbial Ecology,
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-9118-2_11, # Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015
395
11
Yvan Moe ¨nne-Loccoz, Patrick Mavingui, Claude Combes,
Philippe Normand, and Christian Steinberg
Abstract
Most ecosystems are populated by a large number of diversified microorganisms, which
interact with one another and form complex interaction networks. In addition, some of these
microorganisms may colonize the surface or internal parts of plants and animals, thereby
providing an additional level of interaction complexity. These microbial relations range
from intraspecific to interspecific interactions, and from simple short-term interactions to
intricate long-term ones. They have played a key role in the formation of plant and animal
kingdoms, often resulting in coevolution; they control the size, activity level, and diversity
patterns of microbial communities. Therefore, they modulate trophic networks and biogeochemical cycles, regulate ecosystem productivity, and determine the ecology and health of
plant and animal partners. A better understanding of these interactions is needed to develop
microbe-based ecological engineering strategies for environmental sustainability and conservation, to improve environment-friendly approaches for feed and food production, and to
address health challenges posed by infectious diseases. The main types of biotic interactions
are presented: interactions between microorganisms, interactions between microorganisms
and plants, and interactions between microorganisms and animals.
Keywords
Agronomy Antagonism Biogeochemical cycles Commensalism Competition
Ecosystem functioning Infectious diseases Parasitism Predation Symbiosis
Trophic networks
11.1 Main Types of Interactions
11.1.1 Interaction: A Key Aspect of Living
Since the end of the era known as prebiotic era, which happened about 3.8 billion years ago, life has existed on earth in
the form of cells, more or less complex in structure and operation, but still built on the same basic pattern (membrane +
cytoplasm + nucleic acids). Conversely, if the pattern has
remained fundamentally the same throughout evolution,
diversification of genetic information – for all kinds of processes and not only by point mutations – has given birth to a
biosphere composed of myriads of different organisms, from
bacteria to the more organized multicellular eukaryotes.
Y. Moe ¨nne-Loccoz* P. Mavingui* (*) P. Normand
Microbial Ecology Center, UMR CNRS 5557 / USC INRA 1364,
Universite ´ Lyon 1, 69622 Villeurbanne, France
e-mail: yvan.moenne-loccoz@univ-lyon1.fr; patrick.mavingui@
univ-lyon1.fr; philippe.normand@univ-lyon1.fr
C. Combes
Member of the Acade ´mie Franc ¸aise des Sciences (French Academy
of Sciences), 16, rue du Vallon, 66000 Perpignan, Paris, France
C. Steinberg
Po ˆle des Interactions Plante-Microorganismes,
INRA UMR 1347 Agroe ´cologie, AgroSup-INRA-Universite ´
de Bourgogne, BP 86510, 21065 Dijon Cedex, France
e-mail: christian.steinberg@dijon.inra.fr
* Chapter Coordinators
J.-C. Bertrand et al. (eds.), Environmental Microbiology: Fundamentals and Applications: Microbial Ecology,
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-9118-2_11, # Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015
395