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Diverse Microbial Communities Assemble on Both Recalcitrant and Labile Carbon Sources.

Kaumudi H Prabhakara1, Yansong Zhao1, Kristian Ullrich1

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Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Ecology
  • Environmental Science

Background:

  • Microbial community assembly is influenced by resource availability.
  • Labile carbon sources (e.g., glucose) typically support low diversity due to competitive exclusion.
  • Recalcitrant substrates (e.g., cellulose) are hypothesized to support higher diversity via niche partitioning.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if high microbial diversity on recalcitrant substrates is substrate-specific.
  • To compare microbial community assembly trajectories on cellulose versus glucose.
  • To understand general features of community assembly under simple carbon regimes.

Main Methods:

  • Daily 16S rRNA profiling of microbial communities.
  • Serial transfers of communities over four bi-weekly periods.
  • Cultivation in three distinct carbon environments: cellulose paper, cellulose broth, and glucose.

Main Results:

  • Communities diverged sharply in taxonomic and functional composition across environments.
  • Cellulose environments fostered stable communities with specialists; glucose environments showed rapid succession by generalists.
  • All tested environments sustained comparably high levels of taxonomic diversity.

Conclusions:

  • Distinct microbial assembly trajectories emerge under simple carbon regimes.
  • High taxonomic diversity can be maintained on both labile and recalcitrant simple carbon sources.
  • Cross-feeding and resource salvaging play roles in community stability across different carbon substrates.