Assembly of pitcher plant microbiomes 2016
Data files
Sep 18, 2024 version files 9.10 KB
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environmental-variables.txt
7.70 KB
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README.md
1.39 KB
Abstract
Aim
Ecological theory suggests that dispersal limitation and selection by climatic factors influence bacterial community assembly at a continental scale, yet the conditions governing the relative importance of each process remains unclear. The carnivorous pitcher plant Sarracenia purpurea provides a model aquatic microecosystem to assess bacterial communities across the host plant's North–South range in North America. This study determined the relative influences of dispersal limitation and environmental selection on the assembly of bacterial communities inhabiting S. purpurea pitchers at the continental scale.
Location
Eastern United States and Canada.
Time period
2016
Major taxa studied
Bacteria inhabiting S. purpurea pitchers.
Methods
Pitcher morphology, fluid, inquilines and prey were measured, and pitcher fluid underwent DNA sequencing for bacterial community analysis. Null modeling of β-diversity provided estimates for the contributions of selection and dispersal limitation to community assembly, complemented by an examination of spatial clustering of individuals. Phylogenetic and ecological associations of co-occurrence network module bacteria was determined by assessing the phylogenetic diversity and habitat preferences of member taxa.
Results
Dispersal limitation was evident from between-site variation and spatial aggregation of individual bacterial taxa in the S. purpurea pitcher system. Selection pressure was weak across the geographic range, yet network module analysis indicated environmental selection within subgroups. A group of aquatic bacteria held traits under selection in warmer, wetter climates, and midge abundance was associated with selection for traits held by a group of saprotrophs. Processes that increased pitcher fluid volume weakened selection in one module, possibly by supporting greater bacterial dispersal.
Conclusion
Dispersal limitation governed bacterial community assembly in S. purpurea pitchers at a continental scale (74% of between-site comparisons) and was significantly greater than selection across the range. Network modules showed evidence for selection, demonstrating that multiple processes acted concurrently in bacterial community assembly at the continental scale.
README: Assembly of pitcher plant microbiomes
16S DNA sequencing data
The raw sequence reads are available on the SRA database under PRJNA641293.
Description of the data and file structure
The environmental data needed to reproduce the analyses in the manuscript are saved as "environmental-variables.txt".
Sample_name: the name of the sample, corresponding with the DNA sequencing files
site_id: the identification code for the site from which the sample was collected
rosette_diameter_1: a measurement of the pitcher rosette (mm)
rosette_diameter_2: a measurement of the pitcher rosette (mm)
pitcher_length: a measurement of the length of the pitcher (mm)
pitcher_width: a measurement of the width of the pitcher (mm)
keel_width: a measurement of the pitcher's keel (mm)
mouth_diameter: a measurement of the diameter of the pitcher's mouth (mm)
chlorophyll: a measurement of the pitcher chlorophyll (SPAD units, representing the difference in optical density at two wavelengths)
volume: a measurement of the volume of liquid inside the pitcher (mL)
ph: the pH of the liquid inside the pitcher
total_prey: a count of the invertebrates inside the pitcher that were not midges, mosquitoes, or fleshflies
flesh_flies: a count of the flesh flies inside the pitcher
total_mosquito: a count of the mosquitoes inside the pitcher
total_midge: a count of the midges inside the pitcher