Quantifying the relative roles of selective and neutral processes in defining eukaryotic microbial communities.

ABSTRACT: We have a limited understanding of the relative contributions of different processes that regulate microbial communities, which are crucial components of both natural and agricultural ecosystems. The contributions of selective and neutral processes in defining community composition are often confounded in field studies because as one moves through space, environments also change. Managed ecosystems provide an excellent opportunity to control for this and evaluate the relative strength of these processes by minimising differences between comparable niches separated at different geographic scales. We use next-generation sequencing to characterize the variance in fungal communities inhabiting adjacent fruit, soil and bark in comparable vineyards across 1000 kms in New Zealand. By compartmenta

SUBMITTER: Morrison-Whittle P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4542032 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature