Caldwell D E, Costerton J W
Department of Applied Microbiology and Food Science, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada.
Microbiologia. 1996 Sep;12(3):347-58.
Numerous antimicrobial agents have been developed which act at the molecular, cellular, and organismal levels. However, few have been developed which act at the community-level. This results largely from the failure of Darwinian selection theory to envision communities as units of proliferation and evolution. It is thus difficult to conceive of microbial communities as causative agents and to develop antimicrobials which are effective against them. Consequently, we find it necessary to consider a more comprehensive biological paradigm which envisions biofilm communities and other microbial associations (e.g. mixed infections, food spoilage, tooth decay) as units of existence, activity, ecology, proliferation, survival, and evolution. These communities exist in the same sense that organisms exist as units of ecological activity. This is a simpler, more comprehensive, and more unifying theory of ecology. It is simpler in that it no longer requires convoluted explanations of altruistic behavior in terms of individual selection. It is more comprehensive by not constraining evolution to the selection of any single level of biological organization (genes, races, lineages, or groups). It unifies in that it bridges the boundaries between microbial ecology, evolutionary ecology and ecosystem ecology. The basis for this theory lies in recognizing that life consists of various forms of information (order) which evolve not only through genetic recombination and mutation, but also through the recombination of organisms within communities (as well as other mechanisms, some of which are considered beyond the realm of biology). It also involves setting aside the concept of evolution through selection and competition, in favor of evolution through proliferation and association.
已经开发出许多在分子、细胞和生物体水平起作用的抗菌剂。然而，很少有在群落水平起作用的抗菌剂被开发出来。这主要是因为达尔文选择理论未能将群落视为增殖和进化的单位。因此，很难将微生物群落视为病原体，也很难开发出对它们有效的抗菌剂。因此，我们发现有必要考虑一种更全面的生物学范式，该范式将生物膜群落和其他微生物组合（例如混合感染、食物腐败、龋齿）视为存在、活动、生态、增殖、生存和进化的单位。这些群落的存在与生物体作为生态活动单位的存在意义相同。这是一种更简单、更全面、更统一的生态学理论。它更简单，因为它不再需要用个体选择来复杂地解释利他行为。它更全面，因为它不将进化限制在任何单一生物组织水平（基因、种族、谱系或群体）的选择上。它具有统一性，因为它跨越了微生物生态学、进化生态学和生态系统生态学之间的界限。该理论的基础在于认识到生命由各种形式的信息（秩序）组成，这些信息不仅通过基因重组和突变进化，还通过群落内生物体的重组（以及其他机制，其中一些被认为超出了生物学领域）进化。它还涉及抛开通过选择和竞争进行进化的概念，转而支持通过增殖和关联进行进化。
