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Assembly and Tracking of Microbial Community Development within a Microwell Array Platform
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Stochastic Forces in Microbial Community Assembly: Founding Community Size Governs Divergent Ecological Trajectories.

Ibuki Hayashi1, Martina Sánchez-Pinillos2, Hirokazu Toju1,3

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Summary

Early ecological stochasticity, or randomness, significantly shapes biological community assembly. Small founding populations (<10,000 cells) experience greater divergence, leading to distinct community trajectories and long-term ecological impacts.

Keywords:
alternative stable statesalternative transient statescommunity assemblyecological dynamic regimesinvasion ecologymicrobiome dynamicsmultistabilitypositive feedbackpriority effectsstability landscapes

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Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Microbiology
  • Evolutionary Biology

Background:

  • Biological community dynamics result from deterministic and stochastic processes.
  • Environmental factors shape community structure, but stochasticity can alter ecological trajectories.
  • Quantifying the role of stochasticity in community assembly remains a challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To quantify the impact of initial stochasticity on community assembly.
  • To investigate how founding community size influences ecological trajectories.
  • To understand the long-term consequences of early stochastic events.

Main Methods:

  • Community assembly was tracked in two multi-replicated experimental systems.
  • Four levels of founding community size were tested.
  • Over 3000 samples were analyzed across four time points.

Main Results:

  • Increased initial stochasticity led to greater divergence at population and community levels.
  • Distinct alternative community assembly trajectories emerged when founding prokaryotic cell numbers were below 10^4.
  • Quantitative differences in stochasticity resulted in qualitative differences in community fate.

Conclusions:

  • Early stochastic events have enduring impacts on ecological dynamics.
  • Understanding stochasticity is crucial for managing biological invasions, agroecosystems, and human-associated microbiomes.
  • Quantitative insights into stochasticity will reshape ecological perspectives.