1. Infection Microbiology Group, BioCentrum-DTU, The Technical University of Denmark, Building 301, DK-2800 Lyngby, Denmark
2. School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand

Correspondence to: Paul B. Rainey² Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to P.B.R. (Email: p.rainey@auckland.ac.nz).

Abstract

Biofilms are spatially structured communities of microbes whose function is dependent on a complex web of symbiotic interactions^{1, 2}. Localized interactions within these assemblages are predicted to affect the coexistence of the component species^{3, 4, 5}, community structure⁶ and function^{7, 8, 9, 10}, but there have been few explicit empirical analyses of the evolution of interactions¹¹. Here we show, with the use of a two-species community, that selection in a spatially structured environment leads to the evolution of an exploitative interaction. Simple mutations in the genome of one species caused it to adapt to the presence of the other, forming an intimate and specialized association. The derived community was more stable and more productive than the ancestral community. Our results show that evolution in a spatially structured environment can stabilize interactions between species, provoke marked changes in their symbiotic nature and affect community function.

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