Ecological and Evolutionary Science
Opinion/Hypothesis | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceEmergence of Metabolite Provisioning as a By-Product of Evolved Biological FunctionsMicrobes commonly use metabolites produced by other organisms to compete effectively with others in their environment. As a result, microbial communities are composed of networks of metabolically interdependent organisms. How these networks evolve and shape population diversity, stability, and community function is a subject of active research. But how did these metabolic interactions develop initially? In particular, how and why are...
Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceCoupling Bacterial Community Assembly to Microbial Metabolism across Soil ProfilesWe have provided a framework to better understand the mechanisms governing the balance between stochastic and deterministic processes and to integrate the shifts in community assembly processes with microbial carbon metabolism. Our study reinforced that environmental filtering and bacterial cooccurrence patterns influence the stochastic/deterministic continuum of soil bacterial community assembly and that stochasticity may act through...
Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceThe Gut Microbiota Communities of Wild Arboreal and Ground-Feeding Tropical Primates Are Affected Differently by Habitat DisturbanceGut microbiota diversity has become the subject of extensive research in human and nonhuman animals, linking diversity and composition to gut function and host health. Because wild primates are good indicators of tropical ecosystem health, we developed the idea that they are a suitable model to observe the consequences of advancing global change (e.g., habitat degradation) on gut microbiota. So far, most of the studies focus mainly on...
Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceSpace Is More Important than Season when Shaping Soil Microbial Communities at a Large Spatial ScaleBoth space and time are key factors that regulate microbial community, but microbial temporal variation is often ignored at a large spatial scale. In this study, we compared spatial and seasonal effects on bacterial and fungal diversity variation across an 878-km transect and found direct evidence that space is far more important than season in regulating the soil microbial community. Partitioning the effect of season, space and...
Editor's Pick Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary SciencePhages Actively Challenge Niche Communities in Antarctic SoilsIn Antarctic environments, the combination of both abiotic and biotic stressors results in simple trophic levels dominated by microbiomes. Although the past two decades have revealed substantial insights regarding the diversity and structure of microbiomes, we lack mechanistic insights regarding community interactions and how phages may affect these. By providing the first evidence of widespread antiphage innate immunity, we shed light...
Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceDeciphering the Structural Diversity and Classification of the Mobile Tigecycline Resistance Gene tet(X)-Bearing Plasmidome among BacteriaTigecycline is an expanded-spectrum tetracycline used as a last-resort antimicrobial for treating infections caused by superbugs such as carbapenemase-producing or colistin-resistant pathogens. Emergence of the plasmid-mediated mobile tigecycline resistance gene tet(X4) created a great public health concern. However, the diversity of tet(X4)-bearing plasmids and bacteria remains largely uninvestigated. To cover this...
Sponsored Content Minireview | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceSoil Microbial Biogeography in a Changing World: Recent Advances and Future PerspectivesSoil microbial communities are fundamental to maintaining key soil processes associated with litter decomposition, nutrient cycling, and plant productivity and are thus integral to human well-being. Recent technological advances have exponentially increased our knowledge concerning the global ecological distributions of microbial communities across space and time and have provided evidence for their contribution to ecosystem functions...
Editor's Pick Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceSelection Is a Significant Driver of Gene Gain and Loss in the Pangenome of the Bacterial Genus Sulfurovum in Geographically Distinct Deep-Sea Hydrothermal VentsMicrobes can alter their gene content through the gain and loss of genes. However, there is some debate as to whether natural selection or neutral processes play a stronger role in molding the gene content of microbial genomes. In this study, we examined variation in gene content for the Epsilonbacteraeota genus Sulfurovum from deep-sea hydrothermal vents, which are dynamic habitats known for extensive horizontal gene transfer...
Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceLinking Light-Dependent Life History Traits with Population Dynamics for Prochlorococcus and CyanophageThe cyanobacterium Prochlorococcus is an essential member of global ocean ecosystems. Light rhythms drive Prochlorococcus photosynthesis, ecology, and interactions with potentially lethal viruses. At present, the impact of light on Prochlorococcus-virus interactions is not well understood. Here, we analyzed Prochlorococcus and virus population dynamics with a light-driven population model and compared...
Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceGenetic Determinants Enabling Medium-Dependent Adaptation to Nafcillin in Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureusThe ability of pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus to evolve resistance to antibiotics used in the treatment of infections has been an important concern in the last decades. Resistant acquisition usually translates into treatment failure and puts patients at risk of unfavorable outcomes. Furthermore, the laboratory testing of antibiotic resistance does not account...