Traits determine dispersal and colonization abilities of microbes.

ABSTRACT: Many microbes disperse through the air, yet the phenotypic traits that enhance or constrain aerial dispersal or allow successful colonization of new habitats are poorly understood. We used a metabarcoding bacterial and eukaryotic data set to explore the trait structures of the aquatic, terrestrial, and airborne microbial communities near the Salton Sea, California, as well as those colonizing a series of experimental aquatic mesocosms. We assigned taxonomic identities to amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) and matched them to functional trait values through published papers and databases that infer phenotypic and/or metabolic traits information from taxonomy. We asked what traits distinguish successful microbial dispersers and/or colonizers from terrestrial and aquatic source communities. Ou

SUBMITTER: Echenique-Subiabre I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11921345 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature