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Biology of Microbial Communities - Interview
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Keystone taxa predict compositional change in microbial communities.

Cristina M Herren1,2, Katherine D McMahon3

  • 1Freshwater and Marine Sciences Program, University of Wisconsin - Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.

Environmental Microbiology
|May 1, 2018
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Keystone microbial taxa, crucial for community stability, regulate microbial composition. Their presence reduces community changes, especially in undisturbed environments, acting as indicators of ecosystem shifts.

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Area of Science:

  • Microbial ecology
  • Community assembly dynamics
  • Ecosystem stability

Background:

  • Biotic interactions significantly influence microbial community assembly, yet the role of keystone taxa remains debated.
  • Identifying keystone taxa requires demonstrating their influence on whole-community dynamics, not just high connectivity.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of keystone taxa in regulating microbial community composition and stability.
  • To determine if keystone taxa predict community compositional change and if their influence is affected by environmental disturbance.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of three long-term microbial community datasets to assess the relationship between taxa connectivity and compositional turnover.
  • Comparative case studies of reference and disturbed microbial communities to evaluate the interplay of biotic and abiotic factors.

Main Results:

  • Small subsets of highly connected keystone taxa (1%-5% of richness) optimally predicted whole-community compositional change.
  • Greater connectivity, driven by keystone taxa, correlated with lower microbial community compositional turnover.
  • Keystone taxa exhibited greater explanatory power in reference communities than in disturbed ones, indicating reduced biotic influence under disturbance.

Conclusions:

  • Keystone taxa are vital regulators of microbial community composition and stability.
  • Biotic connectivity, particularly through keystone taxa, stabilizes microbial communities.
  • Keystone taxa serve as effective indicators of impending community shifts and ecosystem health.