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wattnurt t1_iscrd1m wrote

Sadly I don't have any direct evidence, but what makes you think it wouldn't be that case? Since life began it's been a fight of various organisms to get the upper hand, surely a virus or a bacteria managed to be "too successful" at some point and wiped out its host.

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bio_med_guy t1_isd6qk5 wrote

Well actually if a bacteria or a virus wiped out the host, being a single species, wouldn't be considered so successful as it won't have a host anymore to reproduce

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wattnurt t1_isd79ha wrote

Most bacteria and viruses have multiple hosts. Wiping out a single one won't affect its viability.

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pressurecan t1_isvpqk1 wrote

Especially because the relationship between “multiple” hosts can be predator and pray, and if one becomes sick, or weaker, while the other is completely fine, it might be advantageous to kill off one of the hosts so that it can live in the stronger one.

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