Aschenbrenner Ines Aline, Cernava Tomislav, Erlacher Armin, Berg Gabriele, Grube Martin
Institute of Environmental Biotechnology, Graz University of Technology, Petersgasse 12, 8010, Graz, Austria.
ACIB GmbH, Petersgasse 14, 8010, Graz, Austria.
Mol Ecol. 2017 May;26(10):2826-2838. doi: 10.1111/mec.14070. Epub 2017 Mar 13.
Knowledge of bacterial community host-specificity has increased greatly in recent years. However, the intermicrobiome relationships of unrelated but spatially close organisms remain little understood. Trunks of trees covered by epiphytes represent complex habitats with a mosaic of ecological niches. In this context, we investigated the structure, diversity and interactions of microbiota associated with lichens, mosses and the bare tree bark. Comparative analysis revealed significant differences in the habitat-associated community structures. Corresponding co-occurrence analysis indicated that the lichen microbial network is less complex and less densely interconnected than the moss- and bark-associated networks. Several potential generalists and specialists were identified for the selected habitats. Generalists belonged mainly to Proteobacteria, with Sphingomonas as the most abundant genus. The generalists comprise microorganisms with generally beneficial features, such as nitrogen fixation or other supporting functions, according to a metagenomic analysis. We argue that beneficial strains shared among hosts contribute to ecological stability of the host biocoenoses.
近年来，关于细菌群落宿主特异性的知识有了很大增长。然而，不相关但空间上接近的生物体之间的微生物群落关系仍知之甚少。附生植物覆盖的树干代表了具有生态位镶嵌的复杂栖息地。在此背景下，我们研究了与地衣、苔藓和裸露树皮相关的微生物群的结构、多样性和相互作用。比较分析揭示了与栖息地相关的群落结构存在显著差异。相应的共现分析表明，地衣微生物网络比与苔藓和树皮相关的网络更不复杂，且相互连接的密度更低。为选定的栖息地确定了几种潜在的通才和专才。通才主要属于变形菌门，鞘氨醇单胞菌属是最丰富的属。根据宏基因组分析，通才包括具有一般有益特征的微生物，如固氮或其他支持功能。我们认为宿主之间共享的有益菌株有助于宿主生物群落的生态稳定性。
