Defining the functional traits that drive bacterial decomposer community productivity.

ABSTRACT: Microbial communities are essential to a wide range of ecologically and industrially important processes. To control or predict how these communities function, we require a better understanding of the factors which influence microbial community productivity. Here, we combine functional resource use assays with a biodiversity-ecosystem functioning (BEF) experiment to determine whether the functional traits of constituent species can be used to predict community productivity. We quantified the abilities of 12 bacterial species to metabolise components of lignocellulose and then assembled these species into communities of varying diversity and composition to measure their productivity growing on lignocellulose, a complex natural substrate. A positive relationship between diversity and communi

SUBMITTER: Evans R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5480597 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature