Spatial self-segregation of pioneer cyanobacterial species drives microbiome organization in biocrusts.

ABSTRACT: Microbial communities are typically characterized by some degree of self-organization. In biological soil crust (biocrust) communities, vertical organization of resident populations at the mm scale is driven by organismal adaptations to physicochemical microniches. However, the extent of horizontal organization and its driving processes are unknown. Using a combination of observational and genetic mapping, we provide evidence for a highly defined, horizontal self-organization (patchiness) at the mm to cm scale in a successionally early biocrust community dominated by the pioneer cyanobacteria, Microcoleus vaginatus (Microcoleaceae) and Parifilum sp. (Coleofasciculaceae). Experiments with representative isolates of each species demonstrate that the phenomenon is driven by active spatial seg

SUBMITTER: Nelson C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9723579 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature