Relative roles of niche and neutral processes in structuring a soil microbial community
Relative roles of niche and neutral processes in structuring a soil microbial community
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DOI：
10.1038/ismej.2009.122
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发表时间：
2010-03-01
期刊：
影响因子：
11
通讯作者：
Fitter, Alastair H.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Dumbrell, Alex J.;Nelson, Michaela;Fitter, Alastair H.
大多数试图确定的过程中，结构的自然社区集中在显着的大型生物，而负责结构的微生物群落的过程仍然相对未知。出现了两种解释这些过程的主要理论：生态位理论，强调确定性过程的重要性，中性理论，侧重于随机过程。我们研究了中性或生态位为基础的机制是否能最好地解释功能重要的土壤微生物丛枝菌根（AM）真菌群落的组成和结构。利用分子生物学技术，我们调查了AM真菌从425个个体的28种植物沿着土壤pH梯度。有证据表明，利基和中立的进程都构成了这一群体。物种丰度符合零和多项分布，有证据表明扩散限制，中性过程的指标。然而，我们发现更强的支持，生态位分化的基础上非生物土壤因素，主要是pH值，是结构的AM真菌群落。宿主植物种类影响AM真菌群落组成可以忽略不计相比，土壤pH值。我们得出结论，虽然生态位分区的主要机制，调节自然AM真菌群落的组成和多样性，这些社区也受到随机中性过程的影响。这项研究是最全面的调查社区水平的过程对土壤微生物的作用，揭示了一个社会，虽然随机过程的影响，仍然以可预测的方式响应一个主要的非生物生态位轴，土壤pH值。该社区的环境因素的强烈反应突出了土壤微生物对环境变化的敏感性。The ISME Journal（2010）4，337-345; doi：10.1038/ismej.2009.122; 2009年11月19日在线发表
Most attempts to identify the processes that structure natural communities have focused on conspicuous macroorganisms whereas the processes responsible for structuring microbial communities remain relatively unknown. Two main theories explaining these processes have emerged; niche theory, which highlights the importance of deterministic processes, and neutral theory, which focuses on stochastic processes. We examined whether neutral or niche-based mechanisms best explain the composition and structure of communities of a functionally important soil microbe, the arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi. Using molecular techniques, we surveyed AM fungi from 425 individual plants of 28 plant species along a soil pH gradient. There was evidence that both niche and neutral processes structured this community. Species abundances fitted the zero-sum multinomial distribution and there was evidence of dispersal limitation, both indicators of neutral processes. However, we found stronger support that niche differentiation based on abiotic soil factors, primarily pH, was structuring the AM fungal community. Host plant species affected AM fungal community composition negligibly compared to soil pH. We conclude that although niche partitioning was the primary mechanism regulating the composition and diversity of natural AM fungal communities, these communities are also influenced by stochastic-neutral processes. This study represents one of the most comprehensive investigations of community-level processes acting on soil microbes; revealing a community that although influenced by stochastic processes, still responded in a predictable manner to a major abiotic niche axis, soil pH. The strong response to environmental factors of this community highlights the susceptibility of soil microbes to environmental change. The ISME Journal (2010) 4, 337-345; doi:10.1038/ismej.2009.122; published online 19 November 2009