RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Predicting microbial relative growth in a mixed culture from growth curve data JF bioRxiv FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory SP 022640 DO 10.1101/022640 A1 Ram, Yoav A1 Dellus-Gur, Eynat A1 Bibi, Maayan A1 Obolski, Uri A1 Berman, Judith A1 Hadany, Lilach YR 2017 UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2017/11/24/022640.abstract AB Estimates of microbial fitness from growth curves are inaccurate. Rather, competition experiments are necessary for accurate estimation. But competition experiments require unique markers and are difficult to perform with isolates derived from a common ancestor or non-model organisms. Here we describe a new approach for predicting relative growth of microbes in a mixed culture utilizing mono- and mixed culture growth curve data. We validated this approach using growth curve and competition experiments with E. coli. Our approach provides an effective way to predict growth in a mixed culture and infer relative fitness. Furthermore, by integrating several growth phases, it provides an ecological interpretation for microbial fitness.