Global patterns in bacterial diversity

Microbes are difficult to culture. Consequently, the primary source of information about a fundamental evolutionary topic, life's diversity, is the environmental distribution of gene sequences. We report the most comprehensive analysis of the environmental distribution of bacteria to date, base...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 104; no. 27; p. 11436
Main Authors: Lozupone, Catherine A, Knight, Rob
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: United States 03.07.2007
Subjects:
Adaptation, Biological - genetics
Bacteria - genetics
Biodiversity
Demography
Ecology
Genetic Variation
Phylogeny
RNA, Bacterial - analysis
RNA, Bacterial - genetics
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - analysis
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - genetics
Soil Microbiology
ISSN:0027-8424
Online Access:Get more information
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Summary:Microbes are difficult to culture. Consequently, the primary source of information about a fundamental evolutionary topic, life's diversity, is the environmental distribution of gene sequences. We report the most comprehensive analysis of the environmental distribution of bacteria to date, based on 21,752 16S rRNA sequences compiled from 111 studies of diverse physical environments. We clustered the samples based on similarities in the phylogenetic lineages that they contain and found that, surprisingly, the major environmental determinant of microbial community composition is salinity rather than extremes of temperature, pH, or other physical and chemical factors represented in our samples. We find that sediments are more phylogenetically diverse than any other environment type. Surprisingly, soil, which has high species-level diversity, has below-average phylogenetic diversity. This work provides a framework for understanding the impact of environmental factors on bacterial evolution and for the direction of future sequencing efforts to discover new lineages.
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ISSN:0027-8424
DOI:10.1073/pnas.0611525104