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MICROBIAL ECOLOGY

When two are better than one

A clever experimental design in bacteria with engineered obligate mutualisms shows that interdependency can allow pairs of bacteria to survive in environments that are uninhabitable by the individual strains.

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Fig. 1: Interdependency in a pair of bacteria can expand their range of habitable environments.

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Correspondence to Clare I. Abreu.

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Abreu, C.I., Datta, M.S. When two are better than one. Nat Ecol Evol 5, 1199–1200 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-021-01499-9

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