Nutrient environments shape amino acid auxotrophy and cross-feeding

Auxotrophy, the absence of biosynthetic capacity for essential metabolites, is widespread in microbes and is thought to shape interactions within communities.

Auxotrophy, the absence of biosynthetic capacity for essential metabolites, is widespread in microbes and is thought to shape interactions within communities. Auxotrophies are often treated as fixed properties of organisms; however, evidence indicates that auxotrophic phenotypes…