scholarly journals Quantitative and Qualitative β Diversity Measures Lead to Different Insights into Factors That Structure Microbial Communities

2007 ◽  
Vol 73 (5) ◽  
pp. 1576-1585 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine A. Lozupone ◽  
Micah Hamady ◽  
Scott T. Kelley ◽  
Rob Knight
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Community ◽  
Microbial Diversity ◽  
Community Composition ◽  
Microbial Community Composition ◽  
Quantitative Measure ◽  
Mineral Chemistry ◽  
Community Diversity ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Β Diversity ◽  
Unweighted Unifrac

ABSTRACT The assessment of microbial diversity and distribution is a major concern in environmental microbiology. There are two general approaches for measuring community diversity: quantitative measures, which use the abundance of each taxon, and qualitative measures, which use only the presence/absence of data. Quantitative measures are ideally suited to revealing community differences that are due to changes in relative taxon abundance (e.g., when a particular set of taxa flourish because a limiting nutrient source becomes abundant). Qualitative measures are most informative when communities differ primarily by what can live in them (e.g., at high temperatures), in part because abundance information can obscure significant patterns of variation in which taxa are present. We illustrate these principles using two 16S rRNA-based surveys of microbial populations and two phylogenetic measures of community β diversity: unweighted UniFrac, a qualitative measure, and weighted UniFrac, a new quantitative measure, which we have added to the UniFrac website (http://bmf.colorado.edu/unifrac ). These studies considered the relative influences of mineral chemistry, temperature, and geography on microbial community composition in acidic thermal springs in Yellowstone National Park and the influences of obesity and kinship on microbial community composition in the mouse gut. We show that applying qualitative and quantitative measures to the same data set can lead to dramatically different conclusions about the main factors that structure microbial diversity and can provide insight into the nature of community differences. We also demonstrate that both weighted and unweighted UniFrac measurements are robust to the methods used to build the underlying phylogeny.

scholarly journals Spatial and Annual Variation in Microbial Abundance, Community Composition, and Diversity Associated With Alpine Surface Snow

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucas Fillinger ◽  
Kerstin Hürkamp ◽  
Christine Stumpp ◽  
Nina Weber ◽  
Dominik Forster ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Microbial Community ◽  
Community Composition ◽  
Microbial Community Composition ◽  
Alpha Diversity ◽  
Community Diversity ◽  
Taxon Richness ◽  
European Alps ◽  
Prokaryotic Cell ◽  
Surface Snow

Understanding microbial community dynamics in the alpine cryosphere is an important step toward assessing climate change impacts on these fragile ecosystems and meltwater-fed environments downstream. In this study, we analyzed microbial community composition, variation in community alpha and beta diversity, and the number of prokaryotic cells and virus-like particles (VLP) in seasonal snowpack from two consecutive years at three high altitude mountain summits along a longitudinal transect across the European Alps. Numbers of prokaryotic cells and VLP both ranged around 104 and 105 per mL of snow meltwater on average, with variation generally within one order of magnitude between sites and years. VLP-to-prokaryotic cell ratios spanned two orders of magnitude, with median values close to 1, and little variation between sites and years in the majority of cases. Estimates of microbial community alpha diversity inferred from Hill numbers revealed low contributions of common and abundant microbial taxa to the total taxon richness, and thus low community evenness. Similar to prokaryotic cell and VLP numbers, differences in alpha diversity between years and sites were generally relatively modest. In contrast, community composition displayed strong variation between sites and especially between years. Analyses of taxonomic and phylogenetic community composition showed that differences between sites within years were mainly characterized by changes in abundances of microbial taxa from similar phylogenetic clades, whereas shifts between years were due to significant phylogenetic turnover. Our findings on the spatiotemporal dynamics and magnitude of variation of microbial abundances, community diversity, and composition in surface snow may help define baseline levels to assess future impacts of climate change on the alpine cryosphere.

scholarly journals Seasonal Dynamics and Persistency of Endophyte Communities in Kalidium schrenkianum Shifts Under Radiation Stress

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Zhu ◽  
Xiang Sun ◽  
Qi-Yong Tang ◽  
Zhi-Dong Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Community ◽  
Community Composition ◽  
Bacterial Communities ◽  
Community Dynamics ◽  
Microbial Community Composition ◽  
Northwest China ◽  
Community Diversity ◽  
Radiation Stress ◽  
Core Microbiome ◽  
Essential Components

Endophytes are essential components of plant microbiota. Studies have shown that environmental factors and seasonal alternation can change the microbial community composition of plants. However, most studies have mainly emphasized the transitive endophyte communities and seasonal alternation but paid less attention to their persistence through multiple seasons. Kalidium schrenkianum is a perennial halophyte growing in an arid habitat with radiation stress (137Cs) in northwest China. In this study, K. schrenkianum growing under different environmental stresses were selected to investigate the dynamics and persistency of endophytic microbial communities amid seasons in a year. The results showed that Gammaproteobacteria and unassigned Actinobacteria were the most dominant bacterial communities, while the most dominant fungal communities were Dothideomycetes, unassigned Fungi, and Sodariomycetes. The bacterial community diversity in roots was higher than that in aerial tissues, and root communities had higher diversity in summer and autumn. In contrast, the fungal community diversity was higher in aerial tissues comparing to roots, and the highest diversity was in spring. Season was a determinant factor in the microbial community composition in the roots but not in the aerial tissues. RaupCrick index suggested that the bacterial communities were mainly shaped by stochastic processes. Our research investigated the community traits and members with temporal persistency. For example, bacterial taxa Afipia, Delftia, Stenotrophomonas, Xanthomonadaceae_B_OTU_211, and fungal taxa Neocamarosporium F_OTU_388, F_OTU_404, F_OTU_445, and unassigned Fungi F_OTU_704, F_OTU_767 showed higher frequencies than predicted in all the four seasons tested with neutral community model. The networks of co-occurrence associations presented in two or more seasons were visualized which suggested potential time-continuous core modules in most communities. In addition, the community dynamics and persistency also showed different patterns by radiation levels. Our findings would enhance our understanding of the microbial community assembly under environmental stress, and be promising to improve the development of integrated concept of core microbiome in future.

scholarly journals Temporal Analysis of the Microbial Community from the Crystallizer Ponds in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico, Using Metagenomics

Genes ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 422 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ricardo L. Couto-Rodríguez ◽  
Rafael Montalvo-Rodríguez
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Community ◽  
Microbial Diversity ◽  
Community Composition ◽  
Ammonia Oxidation ◽  
Microbial Community Composition ◽  
Temporal Analysis ◽  
Hypersaline Environment ◽  
Hypersaline Environments ◽  
Metabolic Processes ◽  
Microbial Composition

The Cabo Rojo solar salterns are a hypersaline environment located in a tropical climate, where conditions remain stable throughout the year. These conditions can favor the establishment of steady microbial communities. Little is known about the microbial composition that thrives in hypersaline environments in the tropics. The main goal of this study was to assess the microbial diversity present in the crystallizer ponds of Cabo Rojo, in terms of structure and metabolic processes across time using metagenomic techniques. Three samplings (December 2014, March and July 2016) were carried out, where water samples (50 L each) were filtered through a Millipore pressurized filtering system. DNA was subsequently extracted using physical–chemical methods and sequenced using paired end Illumina technologies. The sequencing effort produced three paired end libraries with a total of 111,816,040 reads, that were subsequently assembled into three metagenomes. Out of the phyla detected, the microbial diversity was dominated in all three samples by Euryarchaeota, followed by Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria. However, sample MFF1 (for Muestreo Final Fraternidad) exhibited a higher diversity, with 12 prokaryotic phyla detected at 34% NaCl (w/v), when compared to samples MFF2 and MFF3, which only exhibited three phyla. Precipitation events might be one of the contributing factors to the change in the microbial community composition through time. Diversity at genus level revealed a more stable community structure, with an overwhelming dominance of the square archaeon Haloquadratum in the three metagenomes. Furthermore, functional annotation was carried out in order to detect genes related to metabolic processes, such as carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur cycles. The presence of gene sequences related to nitrogen fixation, ammonia oxidation, sulfate reduction, sulfur oxidation, and phosphate solubilization were detected. Through binning methods, four putative novel genomes were obtained, including a possible novel genus belonging to the Bacteroidetes and possible new species for the genera Natronomonas, Halomicrobium, and Haloquadratum. Using a metagenomic approach, a 3-year study has been performed in a Caribbean hypersaline environment. When compared to other salterns around the world, the Cabo Rojo salterns harbor a similar community composition, which is stable through time. Moreover, an analysis of gene composition highlights the importance of the microbial community in the biogeochemical cycles at hypersaline environments.

scholarly journals Antibiotics and fecal transfaunation differentially affect microbiota recovery, associations, and antibiotic resistance in lemur guts

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sally L. Bornbusch ◽  
Rachel L. Harris ◽  
Nicholas M. Grebe ◽  
Kimberly Roche ◽  
Kristin Dimac-Stohl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Antibiotic Resistance ◽  
Microbial Community ◽  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Microbial Diversity ◽  
Community Composition ◽  
Microbial Community Composition ◽  
Microbial Consortia ◽  
Metagenomic Sequencing ◽  
Negative Consequences

Abstract Background Antibiotics alter the diversity, structure, and dynamics of host-associated microbial consortia, including via development of antibiotic resistance; however, patterns of recovery from microbial imbalances and methods to mitigate associated negative effects remain poorly understood, particularly outside of human-clinical and model-rodent studies that focus on outcome over process. To improve conceptual understanding of host-microbe symbiosis in more naturalistic contexts, we applied an ecological framework to a non-traditional, strepsirrhine primate model via long-term, multi-faceted study of microbial community structure before, during, and following two experimental manipulations. Specifically, we administered a broad-spectrum antibiotic, either alone or with subsequent fecal transfaunation, to healthy, male ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta), then used 16S rRNA and shotgun metagenomic sequencing to longitudinally track the diversity, composition, associations, and resistomes of their gut microbiota both within and across baseline, treatment, and recovery phases. Results Antibiotic treatment resulted in a drastic decline in microbial diversity and a dramatic alteration in community composition. Whereas microbial diversity recovered rapidly regardless of experimental group, patterns of microbial community composition reflected long-term instability following treatment with antibiotics alone, a pattern that was attenuated by fecal transfaunation. Covariation analysis revealed that certain taxa dominated bacterial associations, representing potential keystone species in lemur gut microbiota. Antibiotic resistance genes, which were universally present, including in lemurs that had never been administered antibiotics, varied across individuals and treatment groups. Conclusions Long-term, integrated study post antibiotic-induced microbial imbalance revealed differential, metric-dependent evidence of recovery, with beneficial effects of fecal transfaunation on recovering community composition, and potentially negative consequences to lemur resistomes. Beyond providing new perspectives on the dynamics that govern host-associated communities, particularly in the Anthropocene era, our holistic study in an endangered species is a first step in addressing the recent, interdisciplinary calls for greater integration of microbiome science into animal care and conservation.

scholarly journals Elevational changes in bacterial microbiota structure and diversity in an arthropod-disease vector

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tuomas Aivelo ◽  
Mélissa Lemoine ◽  
Barbara Tschirren
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Community ◽  
Microbial Diversity ◽  
Community Composition ◽  
Vector Competence ◽  
Microbial Community Composition ◽  
Alpha Diversity ◽  
Swiss Alps ◽  
Elevational Gradients ◽  
Disease Vector ◽  
Bacterial Microbiota

Environmental conditions change rapidly along elevational gradients and have been found to affect community composition in macroscopic taxa, with lower diversity typically observed at higher elevations. In contrast, microbial community responses to elevation are still poorly understood. Specifically, the effects of elevation on vector-associated microbiota have not been studied to date, even though the within-vector microbial community is known to influence vector competence for a range of zoonotic pathogens. Here we characterize the structure and diversity of the bacterial microbiota in an important zoonotic disease vector, the sheep tick Ixodes ricinus, along replicated elevational gradient (630 - 1673 masl) in the Swiss Alps. 16S rRNA sequencing of the whole within-tick bacterial microbiota of questing nymphs and adults revealed a decrease in Faith's phylogenetic microbial alpha diversity with increasing elevation, while beta diversity analyses revealed a lower variation in microbial community composition at higher elevations. We also found a higher microbial diversity later in the season and significant differences in microbial diversity among tick life stages and sexes, with lowest microbial alpha diversity observed in adult females. No associations between tick genetic diversity and bacterial diversity were observed. Our study demonstrates systematic changes in tick bacterial microbiota diversity along elevational gradients. The observed patterns mirror diversity changes along elevational gradients typically observed in macroscopic taxa, and they highlight the key role of environmental factors in shaping within-host microbial communities in ectotherms.

scholarly journals Insights into the structure and role of seed-borne bacteriome during maize germination

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lidiane Figueiredo dos Santos ◽  
Julie Fernandes Souta ◽  
Cleiton de Paula Soares ◽  
Letícia Oliveira da Rocha ◽  
Maria Luiza Carvalho Santos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Community ◽  
Growth Performance ◽  
Community Composition ◽  
Seedling Growth ◽  
Bacterial Community Composition ◽  
Microbial Community Composition ◽  
Selective Reduction ◽  
Community Diversity ◽  
Initial Growth ◽  
Maize Seeds

ABSTRACTSeed germination events modulate microbial community composition, which ultimately influences seed to seedling growth performance. Here we assess the seed-borne bacteria community in disinfected and non-disinfected maize seeds and seedlings. Using a gnotobiotic system, sodium hypochlorite (1.25%, 30 min) treated-seeds showed a reduction of bacteria population size and an increase of bacteria community diversity associated with selective suppression of Burkholderia related taxon. The shift in the bacteria community composition in disinfested-seeds negatively affects germination speed, seedling growth, and reserve mobilization rates in comparison with non-disinfected maize seeds. A synthetic bacteria community formed by twelve isolates (9 Burkholderia spp.; 2 Bacillus spp. and 1 Staphylococcus sp.) obtained from natural microbiota of maize seeds herein were capable of recovering germination and seedling growth when reintroduced in disinfected seeds. Overall results showed that changes in bacterial community composition and selective reduction of Burkholderia related members dominance interfere with germination events and initial growth of the maize plantlets. By cultivation-dependent and independent approaches, we deciphered seed-maize microbiome structure, bacterial niches location, and bacterial taxon with relevant roles in seedlings growth performance. A causal relationship between seed microbial community succession and germination performance open opportunities in seed technologies to build-up microbial communities to boost plant growth and health.One sentence summarypartial removal of the seed-borne microbiota negatively affects maize seedling growth performance and altered bacteria community structure. Partial microbial recomposition, mainly with Burkholderia-related isolates, restores the germination phenotype of disinfested seeds.

Additions of Pyrite or Chalcopyrite Alters the Microbial Community Diversity, Composition and Function in Sphalerite Bioleaching Systems

2015 ◽  
Vol 1130 ◽  
pp. 454-458 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yun Hua Xiao ◽  
Xue Duan Liu ◽  
Hua Qun Yin ◽  
Wei Ling Dong ◽  
Yi Li Liang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Community ◽  
Community Composition ◽  
Diversity Index ◽  
Microbial Community Composition ◽  
Mantel Test ◽  
Community Diversity ◽  
Zinc Extraction ◽  
Test Analysis ◽  
Microbial Community Diversity ◽  
And Function

Extraction of zinc from sphalerite using bio-hydrometallurgical technologies has become more and more popular. This study used an artificial microbial community with five known microorganisms to examine the relationship among microbial diversity, composition, and function (e.g., zinc extraction rates) in sphalerite bioleaching systems with additional pyrite (SP), chalcopyrite (SC), or both (SPC). Real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) analysis showed that additional pyrite or chalcopyrite changed the microbial community composition dramatically during the sphalerite bioleaching process. Shannon diversity index, compared with Sphalerite (0.109), showed an increase in SP (0.508), SC (0.536) and SPC (0.289) on day 30, and zinc extraction rates were enhanced by about 12.1%, 4.3% and 9.47%, respectively. Also, additional pyrite or chalcopyrite made ORP and the concentrations of Fe3+, Zn2+ and H+ increased, which were the main factors on shaping the microbial community composition by Mantel test analysis. We developed a unitary model, showing that additional pyrite or chalcopyrite increased the microbial community diversity.

scholarly journals Insights into the structure and role of seed-borne bacteriome during maize germination

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lidiane Figueiredo dos Santos ◽  
Julie Fernandes Souta ◽  
Cleiton de Paula Soares ◽  
Letícia Oliveira da Rocha ◽  
Maria Luiza Carvalho Santos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Community ◽  
Bacterial Community ◽  
Growth Performance ◽  
Community Composition ◽  
Seedling Growth ◽  
Bacterial Community Composition ◽  
Microbial Community Composition ◽  
Selective Reduction ◽  
Community Diversity ◽  
Initial Growth

Abstract Seed germination events modulate microbial community composition, which ultimately influences seed to seedling growth performance. Here we evaluate the germinated maize (variety SHS 5050) root bacterial community of disinfected seed (DS) and non-disinfected seed (NDS). Using a gnotobiotic system, sodium hypochlorite (1.25%, 30 min) treated seeds showed a reduction of bacterial population size and an apparent increase of bacterial community diversity associated with a significant selective reduction of Burkholderia related sequences. The shift in the bacterial community composition in DS negatively affects germination speed, seedling growth, and reserve mobilization rates compared with NDS. A synthetic bacterial community (syncom) formed by twelve isolates (9 Burkholderia spp.; 2 Bacillus spp. and 1 Staphylococcus sp.) obtained from natural microbiota maize seeds herein were capable of recovering germination and seedling growth when reintroduced in DS. Overall results showed that changes in bacterial community composition and selective reduction of Burkholderia related members dominance interfere with germination events and initial growth of the maize plantlets. By cultivation-dependent and independent approaches, we deciphered seed-maize microbiome structure, bacterial niches location, and bacterial taxa with relevant roles in seedlings growth performance. A causal relationship between seed microbial community succession and germination performance open opportunities in seed technologies to build-up microbial communities to boost plant growth and health.

scholarly journals Elevational Changes in Bacterial Microbiota Structure and Diversity in an Arthropod-Disease Vector

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tuomas Aivelo ◽  
Mélissa Lemoine ◽  
Barbara Tschirren
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Community ◽  
Microbial Diversity ◽  
Community Composition ◽  
Vector Competence ◽  
Microbial Community Composition ◽  
Alpha Diversity ◽  
Swiss Alps ◽  
Elevational Gradients ◽  
Disease Vector ◽  
Bacterial Microbiota

AbstractEnvironmental conditions change rapidly along elevational gradients and have been found to affect community composition in macroscopic taxa, with lower diversity typically observed at higher elevations. In contrast, microbial community responses to elevation are still poorly understood. Specifically, the effects of elevation on vector-associated microbiota have not been studied to date, even though the within-vector microbial community is known to influence vector competence for a range of zoonotic pathogens. Here we characterize the structure and diversity of the bacterial microbiota in an important zoonotic disease vector, the sheep tick Ixodes ricinus, along replicated elevational gradient (630–1673 m) in the Swiss Alps. 16S rRNA sequencing of the whole within-tick bacterial microbiota of questing nymphs and adults revealed a decrease in Faith’s phylogenetic microbial alpha diversity with increasing elevation, while beta diversity analyses revealed a lower variation in microbial community composition at higher elevations. We also found a higher microbial diversity later in the season and significant differences in microbial diversity among tick life stages and sexes, with lowest microbial alpha diversity observed in adult females. No associations between tick genetic diversity and bacterial diversity were observed. Our study demonstrates systematic changes in tick bacterial microbiota diversity along elevational gradients. The observed patterns mirror diversity changes along elevational gradients typically observed in macroscopic taxa, and they highlight the key role of environmental factors in shaping within-host microbial communities in ectotherms.

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