Department of Environmental Systems Sciences, Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics, ETH-Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Sciences, Duebendorf, Switzerland.
Curr Opin Biotechnol. 2020 Apr;62:220-227. doi: 10.1016/j.copbio.2019.12.013. Epub 2020 Jan 15.
Microbial cells in nature live within dense multispecies conglomerates, forming a self-organizing ecosystem. In such assemblies, genotypes interact with each other in a myriad of ways, driving community dynamics and functionalities. The role of interactions between genotypes and their consequences for spatial structure and functional outcomes are being increasingly studied to understand the ecology and evolution of microbial communities. An increasing body of work with simple microbial populations has elucidated that phenotypic variation, that is, differences within isogenic cells can have important consequences for population dynamics and evolution. However, the role of individual level behavioral differences for community level dynamics is relatively unknown. I argue that it is necessary to study phenotypic variation and microscale processes in order to understand the emergence and consequences of interactions within microbial communities. I highlight possible explanations that can explain the emergence of variation in multi-genotypic assemblages and propose possible consequences on community dynamics.
自然界中的微生物细胞生活在密集的多物种聚集体中，形成一个自我组织的生态系统。在这些组合中，基因型以多种方式相互作用，驱动群落动态和功能。基因型之间的相互作用及其对空间结构和功能结果的影响的作用正越来越多地被研究，以了解微生物群落的生态学和进化。越来越多的简单微生物种群的研究表明，表型变异，即同基因细胞内的差异，可能对种群动态和进化产生重要影响。然而，个体水平行为差异对群落水平动态的作用相对未知。我认为，有必要研究表型变异和微观过程，以了解微生物群落内部相互作用的出现和后果。我强调了可以解释多基因型组合中变异出现的可能解释，并提出了对群落动态可能产生的后果。
