Article
Environmental Sciences
Zelong Zhao, Hongjun Li, Yi Sun, Qing Yang, Jinfeng Fan
Summary: This study investigated the metacommunity dynamics of phytoplankton and zooplankton in the Bohai Sea, China, and found clear geographic patterns in both communities. The zooplankton communities were primarily governed by species sorting rather than dispersal limitation, and exhibited broader habitat niche breadths and dispersal abilities compared to phytoplankton. Additionally, environmental pollution affected high trophic organisms by altering the abundance of phytoplankton and modifying the zooplankton that feed on them.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Daniela F. Soto, Ivan Gomez, Pirjo Huovinen
Summary: The study investigates the ecological mechanisms governing the assembly of microbial communities during the formation of snow algae blooms in the West Antarctic Peninsula. The microbial composition and abundance were examined using metabarcoding techniques, and the contribution of different ecological processes to the microbial community assembly was quantified. The results show differences in microbial assembly between bacteria and eukaryotes in snow algae blooms and propose a model to integrate both assembly processes.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yueyue Li, Kai Ma, Wen Song, Jiayin Zhou, Xia Liu, Mengqi Wang, Qichao Tu
Summary: This study investigates the spatial scaling patterns and ecological processes of different microbial functional groups, and finds that environmental heterogeneity and dispersal limitation are important factors. It provides a better understanding of microbial diversity patterns.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Kel Cook, Jyotsna Sharma, Andrew D. Taylor, Ian Herriott, D. Lee Taylor
Summary: This study explored the spatial structure and substrate specificity of fungal communities in the canopy of a Costa Rican tropical rainforest. The results showed significant positive spatial autocorrelation and distance decay of similarity of fungal communities at small scales, with high turnover and low similarity among samples. The composition and diversity of fungal communities varied among substrate types.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Chunyan Qin, Yifei Ge, Jin Gao, Shengli Zhou, Jian Yu, Beixin Wang, Thibault Datry
Summary: Identifying ecological drivers and understanding their effects on metacommunity and beta diversity are crucial for bioassessment and river management. This study explored the impacts of anthropogenic influences on macroinvertebrate communities in the Yangtze River Delta, China, and found that both species sorting and dispersal shaped the communities, with their importance varying with the levels of anthropogenic impacts. Environmental variables and spatial processes should be considered for effective ecosystem management.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Weihong Zhang, Lu Chen, Haiyang Chen, Wenzhi Liu, Yuyi Yang
Summary: This study investigates the assembly processes and potential ecological mechanisms of bacterial communities on microplastics in the Three Gorges Reservoir area. The results show that the assembly processes are dominated by geographic dispersal limitation, which differs from those in water and sediment. The bacterial communities on microplastics have a narrower niche width and higher similarity to sediment than to water.
APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Bing Zhang, Ting Yang, Chenxiang Sun, Xianghua Wen
Summary: This study investigated the distance-decay relationship of microbial communities in activated sludge across China. The results revealed that dispersal limitation played a dominant role in shaping microbial biogeographic patterns at local and national scales in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), while conductivity, SRT, and pH were important factors at the regional scale. The study also established a quantitative relationship between dispersal limitation ratio and microbial turnover rate, providing new insights into predicting variations in AS community structure.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Nana Liu, Huifeng Hu, Wenhong Ma, Ye Deng, Qinggang Wang, Ao Luo, Jiahui Meng, Xiaojuan Feng, Zhiheng Wang
Summary: This study investigates the deterministic and stochastic processes shaping the taxonomic and phylogenetic beta-diversity of soil microbes in temperate grasslands in northern China. The results indicate that soil microbial beta-diversity is influenced by various factors such as soil depth, species abundance, and phylogenetic turnover.
Article
Ecology
Huimin Xu, Jin Zeng, Chaoran Li, Dayong Zhao, Rujia He, Qinglong L. Wu
Summary: This study investigated the characteristics, spatial distribution, and assembly processes of free-living and particle-attached bacterial communities in lakeshore zones in different regions. The results showed that lifestyle and regional differences both have an impact on bacterial communities. Dispersal limitation was found to be an important process influencing the spatial distribution of bacterial communities.
FRESHWATER BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Benjamin Groult, Pascal Bredin, Cassandre Sara Lazar
Summary: Aquifers are inhabited by microorganisms from the three major domains of life: Archaea, Eukaryotes and Bacteria. This study conducted a spatial analysis of the distribution of microorganisms in the Quebec region to understand the impact of geographic distance and water composition on microbial communities. The results showed that the assembly of microorganisms from these domains is primarily governed by stochastic mechanisms, highlighting the importance of considering their individual specificities.
ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Chinedu C. Obieze, Gowher A. Wani, Manzoor A. Shah, Zafar A. Reshi, Andre M. Comeau, Damase P. Khasa
Summary: Freshwater lakes are crucial reservoirs and drinking water sources globally. However, anthropogenic activities have introduced nutrients, heavy metals, and toxic chemicals, which threaten the microbiota that support these ecosystems. This study examines the impact of human activities on bacterial community diversity, assembly mechanisms, and co-occurrence patterns in freshwater lakes in Canada and India. The findings demonstrate that lake water chemistry and geographic distance play a role in altering bacterial diversity and composition. Anthropogenic activities heavily influence species distribution, with dispersal limitation, homogenous selection, and drift as the main assembly mechanisms.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Ecology
George P. Malanson, Elizabeth R. Pansing, Riccardo Testolin, Sylvain Abdulhak, Ariel Bergamini, Renata Custerevska, Corrado Marceno, Nevena Kuzmanovic, Dordije Milanovic, Eszter Ruprecht, Jozef Sibik, Kiril Vassilev, Wolfgang Willner, Borja Jimenez-Alfaro
Summary: The importance of environmental difference and dispersal limitation in explaining similarity of alpine vegetation at increasing distances between regions has been studied. Climate differences showed a unimodal pattern in explaining beta diversity, while dispersal limitation consistently rose on both substrates. On siliceous substrate, dispersal limitation explained more variation in beta diversity only at longer distances, while it was predominant at all distances on calcareous substrate.
Article
Microbiology
Blandine Trouche, Miriam Brandt, Caroline Belser, Covadonga Orejas, Stephane Pesant, Julie Poulain, Patrick Wincker, Jean-Christophe Auguet, Sophie Arnaud-Haond, Lois Maignien
Summary: The study found that the biogeographic patterns of seafloor microbial communities depend on scale and are influenced by environmental factors such as water depth, oceanic basin, water temperature, and sediment depth. Increasing sediment depth may lead to enhanced divergence of deeper horizon communities.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Jaimie R. West, Thea Whitman
Summary: The spatial heterogeneity of soil microhabitats plays a crucial role in ecological patterns and community assembly processes. Physical disturbance disrupts the spatial isolation of soil microhabitats and microbial communities, leading to reduced bacterial richness and increasing similarity in soil communities. Understanding the effects of spatial heterogeneity and disconnectivity on soil microbial communities provides insights into how anthropogenic disturbances impact soil functions.
FEMS MICROBIOLOGY ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Xiongfeng Du, Songsong Gu, Zheng Zhang, Shuzhen Li, Yuqi Zhou, Zhaojing Zhang, Qi Zhang, Linlin Wang, Zhicheng Ju, Chengliang Yan, Tong Li, Danrui Wang, Xingsheng Yang, Xi Peng, Ye Deng
Summary: Soil bacterial communities in a coastal area follow a distance-decay relationship and the distribution is influenced by body size. This study collected soil samples from two adjacent ecosystems and found that the entire microbial community, as well as individual taxonomic groups, exhibited distance-decay patterns. The turnover rate of microbial communities was higher in nontidal soils and topsoil, with body size influencing the spatial limitation in nontidal topsoil but not in tidal soils.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Xu Liu, Yu Shi, Teng Yang, Gui-Feng Gao, Liyan Zhang, Ruoyu Xu, Chenxin Li, Ruiyang Liu, Junjie Liu, Haiyan Chu
Summary: This study found differences in the community structure and co-occurrence relationships of methane-oxidizing bacteria in paddy and natural wetlands. The assembly processes of these communities were also distinct, with stochastic processes playing a greater role than deterministic processes.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Xiayan Liu, Yu Shi, Lingyu Kong, Lihong Tong, Haoxuan Cao, Hu Zhou, Yizhong Lv
Summary: The use of bio-compost significantly influences the diversity, composition, and structure of soil microbial communities. It increases the richness of beneficial microorganisms and decreases the abundance of harmful microorganisms. Factors such as electrical conductivity, soil organic matter, and total phosphorus play key roles in shaping the microbial community composition.
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Baoliang Tian, Mengke Zhu, Yingchun Pei, Geyao Ran, Yu Shi, Jianqing Ding
Summary: The soil microbial community plays a crucial role in plant-soil feedback processes, and climate warming can induce significant changes in the microbial association networks. This study found that elevated temperature increased the complexity of the network, while wheat planting and warming increased the number of keystone species, which had the strongest relationship with wheat yield and quality.
AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Di Wu, Yuying Ma, Teng Yang, Guifeng Gao, Daozhong Wang, Xisheng Guo, Haiyan Chu
Summary: Long-term fertilization significantly influences fungal communities in both soils and root endosphere, and the content of phosphorus and zinc plays an important role. Organic fertilization systems should consider zinc content, in addition to phosphorus, when managing fertilization practices.
MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM
(2022)
Review
Medicine, Legal
Zhiyong Liu, Halimureti Simayijiang, Qiangwei Wang, Jingyi Yang, Hongyu Sun, Riga Wu, Jiangwei Yan
Summary: Hair is a common biological evidence found at crime scenes and it plays a crucial role in forensic investigation. However, the degraded genetic material in hair makes forensic analysis challenging, limiting its full potential in investigations and trials. Recent advancements in molecular biology have significantly improved DNA and protein analysis of hair, providing crucial clues in numerous cases. This article reviews these developments and attempts to propose a comprehensive solution to enhance forensic hair analysis.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LEGAL MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Shuyue Liu, Yu Shi, Mingming Sun, Dan Huang, Wensheng Shu, Mao Ye
Summary: Microbial community assembly plays a crucial role in the restoration and rehabilitation of disturbed ecosystems. In this study, the assembly mechanism of viral communities under soil contamination was investigated and compared to bacterial communities. The results showed that the assembly of both bacteria and viruses was primarily controlled by deterministic processes. However, with increasing Cr content in soils, the assembly of bacterial genes shifted from stochastic to deterministic processes, while the assembly of viral genes shifted from deterministic to stochastic processes. The stochasticity of viral assembly was found to facilitate the functional redundancy and evolution of bacterial communities towards deterministic processes.
JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Luyao Song, Teng Yang, Shangguang Xia, Thong Yin, Xu Liu, Shaopeng Li, Ruibo Sun, Hongjian Gao, Haiyan Chu, Chao Ma
Summary: In this study, the elevational distribution of bacterial communities in the surface and sub-surface soils of Huangshan Mountain in China was investigated. The results showed higher diversity of bacterial communities in the surface soil layers compared to the subsurface layers. Soil depth had a greater influence on the composition of bacterial communities than elevation. Additionally, the co-occurrence network structures and keystone species differed between the two soil layers.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Soil Science
Teng Yang, Luyao Song, Han-Yang Lin, Ke Dong, Xiao Fu, Gui-Feng Gao, Jonathan M. Adams, Haiyan Chu
Summary: The study found that plant phylogenetic relationships significantly influence fungal community structure in tree roots and surrounding soils. However, little research has been done on whether plant phylogenetic relationships within a single species can also affect fungal communities. The researchers surveyed ectomycorrhizal (EcM) and saprotrophic (SAP) fungal community structure in the fine roots and neighboring soils of Betula ermanii along the Changbai Mountain timberline. They found that within-species plant phylogeny was the main driver of EcM fungal community composition in roots, while geographic distance had the strongest influence on SAP fungal community composition in both soils and roots. Overall, the study shows that within-species plant phylogeny plays a crucial role in shaping EcM fungal communities in roots, and the assembly of fungal communities is dependent on both guild and habitat.
SOIL BIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Xing Wang, Zuoqiang Yuan, Arshad Ali, Teng Yang, Fei Lin, Zikun Mao, Ji Ye, Shuai Fang, Zhanqing Hao, XugaoWang, Yoann Le Bagousse-Pinguet
Summary: This study investigates the response of the phyllosphere microbiome in mountain ranges to climate and leaf functional traits. The results show that the phyllosphere microbiome declines with increasing elevation, contrary to commonly observed hump-shaped biodiversity patterns. Host plant traits and climate have different effects on the endo- and epiphytic phyllosphere microbiomes.
JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2023)
Article
Soil Science
Xu Liu, Cunzhi Zhang, Teng Yang, Gui-Feng Gao, Yu Shi, Haiyan Chu
Summary: The study reveals consistencies and discrepancies between phylogenetic relatedness and network associations within soil bacterial and archaeal communities. Negative complexity in archaeal networks correlates only with mean phylogenetic distance, while both positive and negative complexity in bacterial networks are significantly associated with mean phylogenetic distance. Even after accounting for the effects of environmental factors, phylogenetic relatedness still explains variations in the complexities of bacterial and archaeal associations. Furthermore, network complexity exhibits phylogenetic signals in both bacterial and archaeal networks, albeit within different associated distance classes, suggesting distinct coexistence mechanisms driven by niche and fitness trade-offs among soil bacteria and archaea.
SOIL BIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Zhiyong Liu, Jiajun Liu, Jiaojiao Geng, Enlin Wu, Jianzhang Zhu, Bin Cong, Riga Wu, Hongyu Sun
Summary: Microorganisms can serve as potential markers for identifying body fluids and tissues in forensic genetics. This study explored the use of metatranscriptomics to characterize common forensic samples and investigated the potential application of metatranscriptomics in forensic science. The results demonstrated high alpha diversity in saliva and skin samples, and the use of machine learning models showed that microbial RNA-based methods could be applied for forensic body fluid/tissue identification. Overall, this study provides insights into the role of metatranscriptomics in forensic science and its potential for microbe-based individual identification.
FORENSIC SCIENCE INTERNATIONAL-GENETICS
(2024)
Article
Plant Sciences
Zuoqiang Yuan, Ji Ye, Fei Lin, Xing Wang, Teng Yang, Boyuan Bi, Zikun Mao, Shuai Fang, Xugao Wang, Zhanqing Hao, Arshad Ali
Summary: This study investigated the bacterial diversity and composition of canopy leaves in six dominant tree species in deciduous broad-leaved forests in northeastern China. The results showed that tree species with closer evolutionary distances had similar phyllosphere microbial alpha diversity. The dominant phyla of phyllosphere bacteria were Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Firmicutes. Functional genes of phyllosphere bacteria were mainly involved in amino acid metabolism and carbohydrate metabolism processes. Plant nutrient acquisition and resistance to diseases and pests were found to be the main factors influencing the community structure of phyllosphere bacteria.
Article
Microbiology
Rong Xia, Yu Shi, Xinwei Wang, Yunling Wu, Mingming Sun, Feng Hu
Summary: By studying microbial communities in soil and earthworm guts in a vanadium polluted environment, we gained insights into the effects of vanadium stress on microbial diversity and function. We found that the composition of bacteria and functional genes in the earthworm gut changed significantly with vanadium concentration, while in soil, only the bacteria composition changed significantly. Functional genes in soil showed more stability compared to the earthworm gut, indicating the presence of bacterial functional redundancy. Our findings suggest that earthworm intestinal and soil microbes adopt different strategies to counteract vanadium stress.