Rare taxa in the core microbiome

Area of Science:

• Microbiome research
• Ecology
• Biodiversity studies

Background:

• Rare taxa are key microbiome constituents influencing biodiversity and ecosystem dynamics.
• Understanding core rare taxa and their ecological/genetic drivers remains limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To define and explore the role of core rare taxa.
• To investigate ecological and genetic drivers of core rare taxa persistence.
• To discuss innate and adaptive resilience in core rare taxa.

Main Methods:

• This is an opinion article, synthesizing existing knowledge.
• Conceptual framework development for core rare taxa.
• Literature review and theoretical discussion.

Main Results:

• Core rare taxa are defined as rare species consistently present in the core microbiome.
• Ecological factors (e.g., niche availability) and genetic factors (e.g., adaptation) influence their distribution.
• Innate and adaptive resilience mechanisms are proposed for core rare taxa.

Conclusions:

• Quantifying core rare taxa and their functions is crucial.
• Further research is needed to develop appropriate metrics.
• Findings have implications for biodiversity conservation and microbiome engineering.