Eco-evolutionary robustness of wild bacterial communities to experimental perturbation.

ABSTRACT: Most knowledge about bacterial evolution and ecological interactions comes from laboratory studies. One difference between the wild and most laboratory experiments is the diversity of bacterial taxa present. Understanding how wild bacteria respond to perturbation therefore requires consideration of how ecological sorting, colonization, and genetic changes of constituent species interact. Ecological sorting of species might reduce evolutionary rates and make communities robust to disturbance, or it could amplify selection pressures and lead to unstable co-evolutionary cascades. Even estimates of basic rates of ecological sorting, dispersal, and genetic change are rare. Here, we addressed these knowledge gaps by liming wild decomposer communities living in beech tree holes and tracking ecolo

SUBMITTER: Sant DG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12743297 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature