Data from: Ecology determines how low antibiotic concentration impacts community composition and horizontal transfer of resistance genes

Low concentrations of antibiotics have numerous effects on bacteria.
However, it is unknown whether ecological factors such as trophic
interactions and spatial structuring influence the effects of low
concentrations of antibiotics on multispecies microbial communities. Here,
we address this question by investigating the effects of low antibiotic
concentration on community composition and horizontal transfer of an
antibiotic resistance plasmid in a 62-strain bacterial community in
response to manipulation of the spatial environment and presence of
predation. The strong effects of antibiotic treatment on community
composition depend on the presence of predation and spatial structuring
that have strong community effects on their own. Overall, we find plasmid
transfer to diverse recipient taxa. Plasmid transfer is likely to occur to
abundant strains, occurs to a higher number of strains in the presence of
antibiotic, and also occurs to low-abundance strains in the presence of
spatial structures. These results fill knowledge gaps concerning the
effects of low antibiotic concentrations in complex ecological settings.