ECOLOGY (29)

A pathogen that infects organisms in the kingdom Metazoa.

A predatory bacterial phenotype in which cells kill susceptible conspecific cells and obtain nutrients from the killed cells.

An ecological lifestyle in which cells form surface-attached, matrix-enclosed multicellular communities (biofilms) held together by extracellular polymeric substances — a widespread mode of microbial life.

A quality that categorizes biological agents according to their hazard level and required containment measures.

A biosafety level that poses minimal potential hazard to laboratory workers and the environment, requiring only standard microbiological practices.

A biosafety level that poses moderate risk and is associated with human diseases present in the community.

A biosafety level that can cause serious or potentially lethal disease through inhalation or other routes, requiring specialized containment facilities with controlled access, directional airflow, and strict safety protocols.

A biosafety level that poses extreme risk of life-threatening disease through aerosol transmission with no available treatment.

A biosafety level that is proposed as a classification beyond BSL-4 for hypothetical biological agents requiring enhanced containment.

A symbiosis in which the microorganism benefits from the association (e.g. resources, shelter, transport) while the host's fitness remains essentially unaffected.

A host-associated trait in which a microbe resides within living internal plant tissues without causing apparent disease in the host.

A symbiosis in which the microorganism lives inside the cells or tissues of its host. Obligate intracellular endosymbionts (e.g. of insects) frequently undergo extreme genome reduction.

A host-associated trait in which a microbe resides on living aerial plant surfaces.

A habitat association in which an organism lives independently in the environment, not obligately associated with a host.

A host association in which an organism is a persistent member of the gastrointestinal microbiota of an animal host, often contributing to host nutrition and physiology.

An ecological classification of the primary environment or niche an organism inhabits (e.g. free-living vs host-associated; soil, rhizosphere, gut). Microbial taxa show biogeographic structure across such habitats.

A habitat association in which an organism lives persistently on or in a plant or animal host (e.g. as a member of a host microbiome), spanning commensal, mutualistic, and pathogenic relationships.

A pathogen that infects organisms of the species Homo sapiens.

A symbiosis in which both the microorganism and its host or partner benefit from the association, often through exchange of nutrients or services.

A mutualistic symbiosis in which a diazotrophic bacterium fixes atmospheric N2 for a host plant — classically rhizobia in legume root nodules — in exchange for photosynthate.

A host-association lifestyle in which a normally commensal or environmental microorganism causes disease only when host defenses are compromised or it reaches a normally sterile site.

A symbiosis in which the microorganism benefits at the expense of its host's fitness, deriving resources from the host while causing it harm.

A phenotype where a microbe is a pathogen of some host organism.

A pathogen that infects organisms in the kingdom Viridiplantae.

A trophic-ecology lifestyle in which a bacterium actively kills and consumes other bacteria for nutrients, e.g. the periplasmic predator Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus.

A habitat association in which an organism lives in the rhizosphere — the soil zone influenced by plant roots and root exudates — a hotspot of microbial activity and plant-microbe interaction.

A trophic-ecology lifestyle in which an organism feeds on dead or decaying organic matter, mineralizing it and driving carbon and nutrient cycling (decomposition).

A habitat association in which an organism's primary environment is soil, a complex and highly diverse microbial habitat central to terrestrial biogeochemical cycling.

An ecological lifestyle in which a microorganism lives in persistent physical association with a host or partner organism. It encompasses mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism, which form an evolutionary continuum.