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Causes and consequences of pattern diversification in a spatially self-organizing microbial community
Felix Goldschmidt1,2, Lea Caduff2, David R Johnson3
1Department of Environmental Systems Science, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zürich, Switzerland.
The ISME Journal
|March 5, 2021
Summary
Microbial communities exhibit spatial self-organization driven by nongenetic factors, not initial conditions. This pattern diversification influences community properties like expansion speed.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Ecology
- Systems Biology
Background:
- Surface-attached microbial communities are vital for biogeochemical cycles and human health.
- Spatial self-organization is crucial for microbial community function, ecology, and evolution.
- The determinants of microbial spatial self-organization are not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the underlying causes of spatial self-organization in microbial communities.
- To explore pattern diversification in microbial spatial self-organization.
- To understand the impact of different spatial patterns on community-level properties.
Main Methods:
- Experiments with a synthetic cross-feeding microbial community.
- Statistical modeling and mathematical simulations.
- Analysis of isogenic strains to isolate sources of heterogeneity.
Main Results:
- Two distinct spatial self-organization patterns emerged at similar scales, indicating pattern diversification.
- Pattern diversification was driven by nongenetic heterogeneity, specifically initial spatial positioning.
- Different emergent patterns exhibited varying community expansion speeds.
Conclusions:
- Nongenetic heterogeneity, stemming from initial individual positioning, can drive pattern diversification in microbial communities.
- Spatial self-organization patterns can emerge without initial environmental or genetic heterogeneity.
- Pattern diversification significantly influences microbial community dynamics and properties.
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