Response of the rare biosphere to environmental stressors in a highly diverse ecosystem (Zodletone spring, OK, USA)
Within highly diverse ecosystems, the majority of bacterial taxa are present in low abundance as members of the rare biosphere. The rationale for the occurrence and maintenance of the rare biosphere, and the putative ecological role(s) and dynamics of its members within a specific ecosystem is curre...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
PeerJ Inc.
2015-08-01
|
| Series: | PeerJ |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://peerj.com/articles/1182.pdf |
| _version_ | 1797420549985533952 |
|---|---|
| author | Suzanne Coveley Mostafa S. Elshahed Noha H. Youssef |
| author_facet | Suzanne Coveley Mostafa S. Elshahed Noha H. Youssef |
| author_sort | Suzanne Coveley |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Within highly diverse ecosystems, the majority of bacterial taxa are present in low abundance as members of the rare biosphere. The rationale for the occurrence and maintenance of the rare biosphere, and the putative ecological role(s) and dynamics of its members within a specific ecosystem is currently debated. We hypothesized that in highly diverse ecosystems, a fraction of the rare biosphere acts as a backup system that readily responds to environmental disturbances. We tested this hypothesis by subjecting sediments from Zodletone spring, a sulfide- and sulfur-rich spring in Southwestern OK, to incremental levels of salinity (1, 2, 3, 4, and 10% NaCl), or temperature (28°, 30°, 32°, and 70 °C), and traced the trajectories of rare members of the community in response to these manipulations using 16S rRNA gene analysis. Our results indicate that multiple rare bacterial taxa are promoted from rare to abundant members of the community following such manipulations and that, in general, the magnitude of such recruitment is directly proportional to the severity of the applied manipulation. Rare members that are phylogenetically distinct from abundant taxa in the original sample (unique rare biosphere) played a more important role in the microbial community response to environmental disturbances, compared to rare members that are phylogenetically similar to abundant taxa in the original sample (non-unique rare biosphere). The results emphasize the dynamic nature of the rare biosphere, and highlight its complexity and non-monolithic nature. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T07:04:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-43ba38f265a04c32b999c0c4af836a94 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2167-8359 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T07:04:03Z |
| publishDate | 2015-08-01 |
| publisher | PeerJ Inc. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PeerJ |
| spelling | doaj.art-43ba38f265a04c32b999c0c4af836a942023-12-03T09:46:13ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592015-08-013e118210.7717/peerj.1182Response of the rare biosphere to environmental stressors in a highly diverse ecosystem (Zodletone spring, OK, USA)Suzanne Coveley0Mostafa S. Elshahed1Noha H. Youssef2Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, USADepartment of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, USADepartment of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, USAWithin highly diverse ecosystems, the majority of bacterial taxa are present in low abundance as members of the rare biosphere. The rationale for the occurrence and maintenance of the rare biosphere, and the putative ecological role(s) and dynamics of its members within a specific ecosystem is currently debated. We hypothesized that in highly diverse ecosystems, a fraction of the rare biosphere acts as a backup system that readily responds to environmental disturbances. We tested this hypothesis by subjecting sediments from Zodletone spring, a sulfide- and sulfur-rich spring in Southwestern OK, to incremental levels of salinity (1, 2, 3, 4, and 10% NaCl), or temperature (28°, 30°, 32°, and 70 °C), and traced the trajectories of rare members of the community in response to these manipulations using 16S rRNA gene analysis. Our results indicate that multiple rare bacterial taxa are promoted from rare to abundant members of the community following such manipulations and that, in general, the magnitude of such recruitment is directly proportional to the severity of the applied manipulation. Rare members that are phylogenetically distinct from abundant taxa in the original sample (unique rare biosphere) played a more important role in the microbial community response to environmental disturbances, compared to rare members that are phylogenetically similar to abundant taxa in the original sample (non-unique rare biosphere). The results emphasize the dynamic nature of the rare biosphere, and highlight its complexity and non-monolithic nature.https://peerj.com/articles/1182.pdfRare biosphere dynamicsBackup systemZodletone SpringEnvironmental stressors |
| spellingShingle | Suzanne Coveley Mostafa S. Elshahed Noha H. Youssef Response of the rare biosphere to environmental stressors in a highly diverse ecosystem (Zodletone spring, OK, USA) PeerJ Rare biosphere dynamics Backup system Zodletone Spring Environmental stressors |
| title | Response of the rare biosphere to environmental stressors in a highly diverse ecosystem (Zodletone spring, OK, USA) |
| title_full | Response of the rare biosphere to environmental stressors in a highly diverse ecosystem (Zodletone spring, OK, USA) |
| title_fullStr | Response of the rare biosphere to environmental stressors in a highly diverse ecosystem (Zodletone spring, OK, USA) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Response of the rare biosphere to environmental stressors in a highly diverse ecosystem (Zodletone spring, OK, USA) |
| title_short | Response of the rare biosphere to environmental stressors in a highly diverse ecosystem (Zodletone spring, OK, USA) |
| title_sort | response of the rare biosphere to environmental stressors in a highly diverse ecosystem zodletone spring ok usa |
| topic | Rare biosphere dynamics Backup system Zodletone Spring Environmental stressors |
| url | https://peerj.com/articles/1182.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT suzannecoveley responseoftherarebiospheretoenvironmentalstressorsinahighlydiverseecosystemzodletonespringokusa AT mostafaselshahed responseoftherarebiospheretoenvironmentalstressorsinahighlydiverseecosystemzodletonespringokusa AT nohahyoussef responseoftherarebiospheretoenvironmentalstressorsinahighlydiverseecosystemzodletonespringokusa |