Disentangling drivers of cross-domain microbial β-variations in intertidal mudflats

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Microbial Ecology
• Biogeography

Background:

• Understanding microbial diversity patterns is crucial for ecological insights.
• Most microbial studies focus on single domains, limiting comparative understanding.
• Intertidal mudflats serve as ideal systems for studying microbial responses to environmental gradients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To comparatively investigate ecological drivers shaping beta-diversity across bacteria, archaea, fungi, and protists.
• To analyze microbial community assembly processes along a broad latitudinal climatic gradient.
• To determine domain-specific responses of microbial groups to environmental factors.

Main Methods:

• Comparative analysis of beta-diversity across four microbial domains/kingdoms.
• Utilizing null model analyses to assess deviations from expected diversity.
• Employing distance-based redundancy analysis (db-RDA) to identify environmental drivers.

Main Results:

• Distinct latitudinal beta-diversity patterns were observed for each microbial domain.
• Bacterial and archaeal beta-diversity were primarily linked to regional species pools (gamma-diversity).
• Fungal and protist communities were more influenced by local community assembly processes, with homogeneous selection being predominant.

Conclusions:

• Microbial biogeography is shaped by domain-specific ecological processes.
• A comparative, multi-domain framework is essential for understanding microbial responses to environmental change.
• Organismal traits likely play a role in differential community assembly across microbial domains.