Keystone species in microbial communities: From discovery to soil heavy metal-remediation

Keystone species have significant impacts on community structure and function regardless of their abundance in space and time, whether individually or collectively. They play a unique and crucial role, and their removal can lead to substantial changes in the microbiome. It is one of the necessary processes to explore key microbial functions and interactions by studying keystone species. The term "keystone species" has been proposed and developed for nearly 60 years, but in microbiology, it is often used interchangeably with similar terms, which hinders the integration and advancement of research. Here, we review similar terms for keystone species in the microbial field and suggest using "keystone species" instead of "keystone taxa". We also summarize and analyze identification approaches for keystone species, highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of each while providing recommendations for selecting appropriate approaches in the environmental field. Based on the serious soil environment problem, this review also takes the research in the field of heavy metal-contaminated soils as case studies, and summarizes and analyzes the research situation of keystone species. Finally, we discuss the current limitations in research on keystone species, offering insights into their future development and application in the microbial field, particularly in remediation for heavy metal-contaminated soils. This review aims to summarize existing research on microbial keystone species and connect the findings to the field of environmental remediation, providing a reference for developing more effective remediation strategies and enhancing our understanding of ecosystem health.