Using metacommunity ecology to understand environmental metabolomes.

ABSTRACT: Environmental metabolomes are fundamentally coupled to microbially-linked biogeochemical processes within ecosystems. However, significant gaps exist in our understanding of their spatiotemporal organization, limiting our ability to uncover transferrable principles and predict ecosystem function. We propose that a theoretical paradigm, which integrates concepts from metacommunity ecology, is necessary to reveal underlying mechanisms governing metabolomes. We call this synthesis between ecology and metabolomics 'meta-metabolome ecology' and demonstrate its utility using a mass spectrometry dataset. We developed three relational metabolite dendrograms using molecular properties and putative biochemical transformations and performed ecological null modeling. Based upon null modeling results,

SUBMITTER: Danczak RE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7732844 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature