Testing the Neutral Theory of Biodiversity with Human Microbiome Datasets.

ABSTRACT: The human microbiome project (HMP) has made it possible to test important ecological theories for arguably the most important ecosystem to human health-the human microbiome. Existing limited number of studies have reported conflicting evidence in the case of the neutral theory; the present study aims to comprehensively test the neutral theory with extensive HMP datasets covering all five major body sites inhabited by the human microbiome. Utilizing 7437 datasets of bacterial community samples, we discovered that only 49 communities (less than 1%) satisfied the neutral theory, and concluded that human microbial communities are not neutral in general. The 49 positive cases, although only a tiny minority, do demonstrate the existence of neutral processes. We realize that the traditional doctr

SUBMITTER: Li L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4985628 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature