A biological interaction where one organism produces substances that suppress or kill another organism, especially used to describe antibiotic action.
From anti- (against) + -biosis (from Greek bios, life + -osis, condition). Coined in the 1920s by microbiologists studying how some bacteria kill others through chemical warfare.
Antibiosis is essentially biological warfare at the microscopic level—some bacteria literally poison their competitors! Scientists discovered penicillin because Alexander Fleming noticed antibiosis: mold was killing bacteria on his petri dish.
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