Ward David M, Bateson Mary M, Ferris Michael J, Kühl Michael, Wieland Andrea, Koeppel Alex, Cohan Frederick M
Department of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA.
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2006 Nov 29;361(1475):1997-2008. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2006.1919.
We have investigated microbial mats of alkaline siliceous hot springs in Yellowstone National Park as natural model communities to learn how microbial populations group into species-like fundamental units. Here, we bring together empirical patterns of the distribution of molecular variation in predominant mat cyanobacterial populations, theory-based modelling of how to demarcate phylogenetic clusters that correspond to ecological species and the dynamic patterns of the physical and chemical microenvironments these populations inhabit and towards which they have evolved adaptations. We show that putative ecotypes predicted by the theory-based model correspond well with distribution patterns, suggesting populations with distinct ecologies, as expected of ecological species. Further, we show that increased molecular resolution enhances our ability to detect ecotypes in this way, though yet higher molecular resolution is probably needed to detect all ecotypes in this microbial community.
我们研究了黄石国家公园碱性硅质温泉中的微生物席，将其作为自然模型群落，以了解微生物种群如何聚集成类似物种的基本单元。在此，我们整合了主要席状蓝藻种群分子变异分布的实证模式、基于理论的如何划分与生态物种相对应的系统发育簇的模型，以及这些种群所栖息并已进化出适应性的物理和化学微环境的动态模式。我们表明，基于理论模型预测的假定生态型与分布模式高度吻合，这表明存在具有不同生态的种群，正如生态物种所预期的那样。此外，我们还表明，提高分子分辨率增强了我们以这种方式检测生态型的能力，不过可能需要更高的分子分辨率才能检测到这个微生物群落中的所有生态型。
