model systems
- Perspective | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceExperimental Microbiomes: Models Not to Scale
Low-cost, high-throughput nucleic acid sequencing ushered the field of microbial ecology into a new era in which the microbial composition of nearly every conceivable environment on the planet is under examination. However, static “screenshots” derived from sequence-only approaches belie the underlying complexity of the microbe-microbe and microbe-host interactions occurring within these systems.
- Special Issue Perspective | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceIn Search of Model Ecological Systems for Understanding Specialized Metabolism
Microbes occupy diverse habitats, forming interconnected, dynamic communities. Elucidating the principles of microbial community function is a grand challenge for microbiology, and it will entail experiments that engage microbiomes across multiple levels of complexity.