Eco-environment and Resource Efficiency Research Laboratory, School of Environment and Energy, Shenzhen Graduate School, Peking University, Shenzhen, 518055, China.
AI for Science (AI4S)-Preferred Program, Peking University, Shenzhen, 518055, China.
NPJ Biofilms Microbiomes. 2024 Jul 28;10(1):62. doi: 10.1038/s41522-024-00537-1.
Alkaline lakes are extreme environments inhabited by diverse microbial extremophiles. However, large-scale distribution patterns, environmental adaptations, community assembly, and evolutionary dynamics of microbial communities remain largely underexplored. This study investigated the characteristics of microbial communities on rare and abundant taxa in alkaline lake sediments in west and northwest China. We observed that abundant taxa varied significantly with geographical distance, while rare taxa remained unaffected by regional differences. The assembly process of abundant taxa was influenced by dispersal limitation, whilst rare taxa were predominantly driven by heterogeneous selection. Network analysis indicated that rare taxa as core species for community interactions and community stability. Rare taxa exhibited higher speciation and transition rate than abundant taxa, serving as a genetic reservoir and potential candidates to become abundance taxa, highlighting their crucial role in maintaining microbial diversity. These insights underscore the significant influence of rare taxa on ecosystem biodiversity and stability in alkaline lakes.
碱性湖泊是由各种微生物极端生物栖息的极端环境。然而，微生物群落的大规模分布模式、环境适应、群落组装和进化动态在很大程度上仍未得到充分探索。本研究调查了中国西部和西北部碱性湖底泥中稀有和丰富分类群微生物群落的特征。我们观察到，丰富的分类群随着地理距离的变化而显著变化，而稀有分类群不受区域差异的影响。丰富分类群的组装过程受到扩散限制的影响，而稀有分类群主要受异质选择的驱动。网络分析表明，稀有分类群作为群落相互作用和群落稳定性的核心物种。稀有分类群的物种形成和转移率高于丰富分类群，是遗传库和成为丰富分类群的潜在候选者，突出了它们在维持微生物多样性方面的关键作用。这些发现强调了稀有分类群对碱性湖泊生态系统生物多样性和稳定性的重要影响。
