Large scale exploration reveals rare taxa crucially shape microbial assembly in alkaline lake sediments

作者：Zhiguang Qiu, Shuhang He, Chun‐Ang Lian, Xuejiao Qiao, Qing Zhang, Ciqin Yao, Rong Mu, Li Wang, Xiao-Ai Cao, Yan Yan, Ke Yu · 发表于：npj Biofilms and Microbiomes · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1038/s41522-024-00537-1 · 被引用次数：31 · 研究领域：Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology、Gut microbiota and health、Genomics and Phylogenetic Studies

Alkaline lakes are extreme environments inhabited by diverse microbial extremophiles. However, large-scale distribution patterns, environmental adaptations, community assembly, and evolutionary dynamics of microbial communities remain largely underexplored. This study investigated the characteristics of microbial communities on rare and abundant taxa in alkaline lake sediments in west and northwest China. We observed that abundant taxa varied significantly with geographical distance, while rare taxa remained unaffected by regional differences. The assembly process of abundant taxa was influenced by dispersal limitation, whilst rare taxa were predominantly driven by heterogeneous selection. Network analysis indicated that rare taxa as core species for community interactions and community stability. Rare taxa exhibited higher speciation and transition rate than abundant taxa, serving as a genetic reservoir and potential candidates to become abundance taxa, highlighting their crucial role in maintaining microbial diversity. These insights underscore the significant influence of rare taxa on ecosystem biodiversity and stability in alkaline lakes.