Alpha-, beta-, and gamma-diversity of bacteria varies across habitats

Bacteria are essential parts of ecosystems and are the most diverse organisms on the planet. Yet, we still do not know which habitats support the highest diversity of bacteria across multiple scales. We analyzed alpha-, beta-, and gamma-diversity of bacterial assemblages using 11,680 samples compile...

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Published in:PloS one Vol. 15; no. 9; p. e0233872
Main Authors: Walters, Kendra E., Martiny, Jennifer B. H.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: United States Public Library of Science 23.09.2020
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Subjects:
Agricultural land
Bacteria
Bacteria - classification
BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Biodiversity
Biofilms
Biology and Life Sciences
Biotic communities
Community composition
Databases, Genetic
Datasets
Deserts
Distribution
Earth
Earth Sciences
Ecology and Environmental Sciences
Ecosystem
Ecosystems
Evolutionary biology
Geographical locations
Grasslands
Habitats
Heterogeneity
Identification and classification
Influence
Inland waters
Metadata
Microbial mats
Microbiomes
Microbiota
Regression analysis
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - genetics
Sediments
Soil Microbiology
Soil microorganisms
Soils
Species diversity
Trends
Tundra
Brazil
United States > US
California
ISSN:1932-6203, 1932-6203
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Bacteria are essential parts of ecosystems and are the most diverse organisms on the planet. Yet, we still do not know which habitats support the highest diversity of bacteria across multiple scales. We analyzed alpha-, beta-, and gamma-diversity of bacterial assemblages using 11,680 samples compiled by the Earth Microbiome Project. We found that soils contained the highest bacterial richness within a single sample (alpha-diversity), but sediment assemblages displayed the highest gamma-diversity. Sediment, biofilms/mats, and inland water exhibited the most variation in community composition among geographic locations (beta-diversity). Within soils, agricultural lands, hot deserts, grasslands, and shrublands contained the highest richness, while forests, cold deserts, and tundra biomes consistently harbored fewer bacterial species. Surprisingly, agricultural soils encompassed similar levels of beta-diversity as other soil biomes. These patterns were robust to the alpha- and beta- diversity metrics used and the taxonomic binning approach. Overall, the results support the idea that spatial environmental heterogeneity is an important driver of bacterial diversity.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
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SC0016410
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0233872