Guided by Microbes: Applying Community Coalescence Principles for Predictive Microbiome Engineering.

ABSTRACT: Every seed germinating in soils, wastewater treatment, and stream confluence exemplify microbial community coalescence-the blending of previously isolated communities. Here, we present theoretical and experimental knowledge on how separated microbial communities mix, with particular focus on managed ecosystems. We adopt the community coalescence framework, which integrates metacommunity theory and meta-ecosystem dynamics, and highlight the prevalence of these coalescence events within microbial systems. Specifically, we (i) describe fundamental types of community coalescences using naturally occurring and managed examples, (ii) offer ways forward to leverage community coalescence in managed systems, and (iii) emphasize the importance of microbial ecological theory to achieving desired coal

SUBMITTER: Rocca JD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8407356 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature