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Structured community transitions explain the switching capacity of microbial systems
Chengyi Long1, Jie Deng1, Jen Nguyen2,3
1Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139.
Summary
Internal community dynamics, not just environmental factors, enhance microbial system switching capacity. Structured transitions increase future community dependence on current taxon membership, boosting system adaptability.
Area of Science:
- Microbial Ecology
- Theoretical Ecology
- Systems Biology
Background:
- Microbial systems frequently switch between dominant communities (taxon memberships).
- This switching is often attributed to random environmental factors, with internal dynamics' role unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how internal community dynamics influence microbial system switching capacity.
- To demonstrate that structured community transitions enhance switching capacity.
Main Methods:
- Integrated ecological theory with empirical data.
- Proposed a structuralist approach defining community feasibility domains in environmental parameter space.
- Applied a gravity model analogue for transition probabilities.
Main Results:
- Structured transitions increase future community dependency on current taxon membership.
- Identified two classes of systems: high switching capacity across wide community sizes, and high capacity within narrow size ranges.
- Validated the theory with temporal data from gut, oral, vaginal, and ocean microbiota.
Conclusions:
- The topology of feasibility domains is crucial for understanding microbial system dynamics.
- Internal community structure significantly impacts microbial system switching capacity.
- This framework can help identify community sizes where internal dynamics are most influential.
