scholarly journals Fungal-bacterial diversity and microbiome complexity predict ecosystem functioning

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cameron Wagg ◽  
Klaus Schlaeppi ◽  
Samiran Banerjee ◽  
Eiko E. Kuramae ◽  
Marcel G. A. van der Heijden

Abstract The soil microbiome is highly diverse and comprises up to one quarter of Earth’s diversity. Yet, how such a diverse and functionally complex microbiome influences ecosystem functioning remains unclear. Here we manipulated the soil microbiome in experimental grassland ecosystems and observed that microbiome diversity and microbial network complexity positively influenced multiple ecosystem functions related to nutrient cycling (e.g. multifunctionality). Grassland microcosms with poorly developed microbial networks and reduced microbial richness had the lowest multifunctionality due to fewer taxa present that support the same function (redundancy) and lower diversity of taxa that support different functions (reduced  functional uniqueness). Moreover, different microbial taxa explained different ecosystem functions pointing to the significance of functional diversity in microbial communities. These findings indicate the importance of microbial interactions within and among fungal and bacterial communities for enhancing ecosystem performance and demonstrate that the extinction of complex ecological associations belowground can impair ecosystem functioning.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Myrto Tsiknia ◽  
Stilianos Fodelianakis ◽  
Nikolaos P. Nikolaidis ◽  
Nikolaos V. Paranychianakis

AbstractThere is a renewed interest in recent years on the ecological processes (stochastic vs selective) driving the assembly of microbial communities. Such information could potentially improve our understanding on ecosystem functioning and resilience to disturbances, ecosystem response to environmental shifts, and adoption of sustainable soil management practices. Herein, employing a suite of existing methodologies, we show that stochastic processes have an important role on the assembly of soil bacterial communities at a Mediterranean watershed. Moreover, we document that the relative contribution of assembly processes varies over the years. The observed intensification of stochastic processes was accompanied by a decrease in the contribution of variable selection in favor of homogeneous selection and dispersal and this trend was only marginally affected by land use (natural vs agricultural lands) or soil depth. Our study also revealed a high inter-annual turnover of soil microbial communities that was likely stimulated by the weak environmental selection and the prevailing environmental conditions (drying-wetting cycles) in Mediterranean landscapes, implying potential impacts on ecosystem functioning and our ability to predict soil response to environmental shifts. Using nitrogen mineralization rate (NMR) as a representative function we document highly variable NMR over the sampling years, land uses and soil depths and lack of significant associations with the monitored environmental variables and individual taxa. In summary, our study provides novel insights on the organization and functioning of microbial communities at Mediterranean ecosystems and sets directions towards a more advanced understanding of the relationships among environmental factors, microbial community structure, and ecosystem functioning that could contribute to sustainable management of these severely degraded ecosystems.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Horner ◽  
Samuel S. Browett ◽  
Rachael E. Antwis

AbstractModern agricultural practices have vastly increased crop production but negatively affected soil health. As such, there is a call to develop sustainable, ecologically-viable approaches to food production. Mixed-cropping of plant varieties can increase yields, although impacts on plant-associated microbial communities are unclear, despite their critical role in plant health and broader ecosystem function. We investigated how mixed-cropping between two field pea (Pisum sativum L.) varieties (Winfreda and Ambassador) influenced root-associated microbial communities and yield. The two varieties supported significantly different fungal and bacterial communities when grown as mono-crops. Mixed-cropping caused changes in microbial communities but with differences between varieties. Root bacterial communities of Winfreda remained stable in response to mixed-cropping, whereas those of Ambassador became more similar to Winfreda. Conversely, root fungal communities of Ambassador remained stable under mixed-cropping, and those of Winfreda shifted towards the composition of Ambassador. Microbial co-occurrence networks of both varieties were stronger and larger under mixed-cropping, which may improve stability and resilience in agricultural soils. Both varieties produced slightly higher yields under mixed-cropping, although overall Ambassador plants produced higher yields than Winfreda plants. Our results suggest that variety diversification may increase yield and promote microbial interactions.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cameron Wagg ◽  
Yann Hautier ◽  
Sarah Pellkofer ◽  
Samiran Banerjee ◽  
Bernhard Schmid ◽  
...  

AbstractTheoretical and empirical advances have revealed the importance of biodiversity for stabilizing ecosystem functions through time. Yet despite the global degradation of soils, how the loss of soil microbial diversity can de-stabilizes ecosystem functioning is unknown. Here we experimentally quantified the contribution diversity and the temporal dynamics in the composition of soil microbial communities to the temporal stability of four key ecosystem functions related to nutrient and carbon cycling. Soil microbial diversity loss reduced the temporal stability of all ecosystem functions and was particularly strong when over 50% of microbial taxa were lost. The stabilizing effect of soil biodiversity was linked to asynchrony among microbial taxa whereby different soil fungi and bacteria were associated with different ecosystem functions at different times. Our results emphasize the need to conserve soil biodiversity in order to ensure the reliable provisioning of multiple ecosystems functions that soils provide to society.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alaina C Pfenning-Butterworth ◽  
Reilly Cooper ◽  
Clay Cressler

Host-associated microbial communities are impacted by external and within-host factors, i.e., diet and feeding behavior. For organisms known to have a circadian rhythm in feeding behavior, microbiome composition is likely impacted by the different rates of microbe introduction and removal across a daily cycle, in addition to any diet-induced changes in microbial interactions. Here, we measured feeding behavior and used 16S rRNA sequencing to compare the microbial community across a diel cycle in two distantly related species of Daphnia, that differ in their life history traits, to assess how daily feeding patterns impact microbiome composition. We find that Daphnia species reared under similar laboratory conditions have significantly different microbial communities. Additionally, we reveal that Daphnia have daily differences in their microbial composition that correspond with feeding behavior, such that there is greater microbiome diversity at night during the host's active feeding phase. These results highlight that zooplankton microbiomes are relatively distinct and are likely influenced by host phylogeny.


PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e6044 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Zhu ◽  
Yingying Cao ◽  
Min Yang ◽  
Pengchen Wen ◽  
Lei Cao ◽  
...  

Qula is a cheese-like product usually prepared with unpasteurized yak milk under open conditions, with both endogenous and exogenous microorganisms involved in the fermentation process. In the present study, 15 Qula samples were collected from five different regions in China to investigate the diversity of microbial communities using high-throughput sequencing targeting the V3–V4 region of 16S rRNA gene. The bacterial diversity significantly differed among samples of different origins, indicating a possible effect of geography. The result also showed that microbial communities significantly differed in samples of different origin and these differences were greater at the genus than the phylum level. A total of six phyla were identified in the samples, and Firmicutes and Proteobacteria had a relative abundance >20%. A total of 73 bacterial genera were identified in the samples. Two dominant genera (Lactobacillus and Acetobacter) were common to all samples, and a total of 47 operational taxonomic units at different levels significantly differed between samples of different origin. The predicted functional genes of the bacteria present in samples also indicated differences in bacterial communities between the samples of different origin. The network analysis showed that microbial interactions between bacterial communities in Qula were very complex. This study lays a foundation for further investigations into its food ecology.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nighat Perveen ◽  
Sabir Bin Muzaffar ◽  
Ranjit Vijayan ◽  
Mohammad Ali Al-Deeb

Abstract Hyalomma dromedarii is an important blood-feeding ectoparasite that affects the health of camels. We assessed the profile of bacterial communities associated with H. dromedarii collected from camels in the eastern part of the UAE in 2010 and 2019. A total of 100 partially engorged female ticks were taken from tick samples collected from camels (n = 100; 50/year) and subjected to DNA extraction and sequencing. The 16S rRNA gene was amplified from genomic DNA and sequenced using Illumina MiSeq platform to elucidate the bacterial communities. Principle Coordinates Analysis (PCoA) was conducted to determine patterns of diversity in bacterial communities. In 2010 and 2019, we obtained 899,574 and 781,452 read counts and these formed 371 and 191 operational taxonomic units (OTUs, clustered at 97% similarity), respectively. In both years, twenty-five bacterial families with high relative abundance were detected and the following were the most common: Moraxellaceae, Enterobacteriaceae, Staphylococcaceae, Bacillaceae, Corynebacteriaceae, Flavobacteriaceae, Francisellaceae, Muribaculaceae, Neisseriaceae, and Pseudomonadaceae. Francisellaceae and Enterobacteriaceae coexist in H. dromedarii and we suggest that they thrive under similar conditions and microbial interactions inside the host. Comparisons of diversity indicated that microbial communities differed in terms of richness and evenness between 2010 and 2019, with higher richness but lower evenness in communities in 2010. Principle coordinates analyses showed clear clusters separating microbial communities in 2010 and 2019. The differences in communities suggested that the repertoire of microbial communities have shifted. In particular, the significant increase in dominance of Francisella and the presence of bacterial families containing pathogenic genera shows that H. dromedarii poses a serious health risk to camels and people who interact with them. Thus, it may be wise to introduce active surveillance of key genera that constitute a health hazard in the livestock industry to protect livestock and people.


PeerJ ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. e12241
Author(s):  
Carolane Giraud ◽  
Nolwenn Callac ◽  
Maxime Beauvais ◽  
Jean-René Mailliez ◽  
Dominique Ansquer ◽  
...  

Background Microbial communities associated with animals are known to be key elements in the development of their hosts. In marine environments, these communities are largely under the influence of the surrounding water. In aquaculture, understanding the interactions existing between the microbiotas of farmed species and their rearing environment could help establish precise bacterial management. Method In light of these facts, we studied the active microbial communities associated with the eggs and the nauplii of the Pacific blue shrimp (Litopenaeus stylirostris) and their rearing water. All samples were collected in September 2018, November 2018 and February 2019. After RNA extractions, two distinct Illumina HiSeq sequencings were performed. Due to different sequencing depths and in order to compare samples, data were normalized using the Count Per Million method. Results We found a core microbiota made of taxa related to Aestuariibacter, Alteromonas, Vibrio, SAR11, HIMB11, AEGEAN 169 marine group and Candidatus Endobugula associated with all the samples indicating that these bacterial communities could be transferred from the water to the animals. We also highlighted specific bacterial taxa in the eggs and the nauplii affiliated to Pseudomonas, Corynebacterium, Acinetobacter, Labrenzia, Rothia, Thalassolituus, Marinobacter, Aureispira, Oleiphilus, Profundimonas and Marinobacterium genera suggesting a possible prokaryotic vertical transmission from the breeders to their offspring. This study is the first to focus on the active microbiota associated with early developmental stages of a farmed shrimp species and could serve as a basis to comprehend the microbial interactions involved throughout the whole rearing process.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sana Romdhane ◽  
Aymé Spor ◽  
Julie Aubert ◽  
David Bru ◽  
Marie-Christine Breuil ◽  
...  

AbstractMicrobial communities play important roles in all ecosystems and yet a comprehensive understanding of the ecological processes governing the assembly of these communities is missing. To address the role of biotic interactions between microorganisms in assembly and for functioning of the soil microbiota, we used a top-down manipulation approach based on the removal of various populations in a natural soil microbial community. We hypothesized that removal of certain microbial groups will strongly affect the relative fitness of many others, therefore unraveling the contribution of biotic interactions in shaping the soil microbiome. Here we show that 39% of the dominant bacterial taxa across treatments were subjected to competitive interactions during soil recolonization, highlighting the importance of biotic interactions in the assembly of microbial communities in soil. Moreover, our approach allowed the identification of microbial community assembly rule as exemplified by the competitive exclusion between members of Bacillales and Proteobacteriales. Modified biotic interactions resulted in greater changes in activities related to N- than to C-cycling. Our approach can provide a new and promising avenue to study microbial interactions in complex ecosystems as well as the links between microbial community composition and ecosystem function.


2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 399-409
Author(s):  
Baizhen Gao ◽  
Rushant Sabnis ◽  
Tommaso Costantini ◽  
Robert Jinkerson ◽  
Qing Sun

Microbial communities drive diverse processes that impact nearly everything on this planet, from global biogeochemical cycles to human health. Harnessing the power of these microorganisms could provide solutions to many of the challenges that face society. However, naturally occurring microbial communities are not optimized for anthropogenic use. An emerging area of research is focusing on engineering synthetic microbial communities to carry out predefined functions. Microbial community engineers are applying design principles like top-down and bottom-up approaches to create synthetic microbial communities having a myriad of real-life applications in health care, disease prevention, and environmental remediation. Multiple genetic engineering tools and delivery approaches can be used to ‘knock-in' new gene functions into microbial communities. A systematic study of the microbial interactions, community assembling principles, and engineering tools are necessary for us to understand the microbial community and to better utilize them. Continued analysis and effort are required to further the current and potential applications of synthetic microbial communities.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 1657
Author(s):  
Abdul-Salam Juhmani ◽  
Alessandro Vezzi ◽  
Mohammad Wahsha ◽  
Alessandro Buosi ◽  
Fabio De Pascale ◽  
...  

Seaweeds are a group of essential photosynthetic organisms that harbor a rich diversity of associated microbial communities with substantial functions related to host health and defense. Environmental and anthropogenic stressors may disrupt the microbial communities and their metabolic activity, leading to host physiological alterations that negatively affect seaweeds’ performance and survival. Here, the bacterial communities associated with one of the most common seaweed, Ulva laetevirens Areshough, were sampled over a year at three sites of the lagoon of Venice affected by different environmental and anthropogenic stressors. Bacterial communities were characterized through Illumina sequencing of the V4 hypervariable region of 16S rRNA genes. The study demonstrated that the seaweed associated bacterial communities at sites impacted by environmental stressors were host-specific and differed significantly from the less affected site. Furthermore, these communities were significantly distinct from those of the surrounding seawater. The bacterial communities’ composition was significantly correlated with environmental parameters (nutrient concentrations, dissolved oxygen saturation, and pH) across sites. This study showed that several more abundant bacteria on U. laetevirens at stressed sites belonged to taxa related to the host response to the stressors. Overall, environmental parameters and anthropogenic stressors were shown to substantially affect seaweed associated bacterial communities, which reflect the host response to environmental variations.


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