Active motility and chemotactic movement regulate the microbial early-colonization and biodiversity
Microbial dispersal and subsequent colonization of new niches are fundamental processes in microbial ecology, particularly in patchy environments like soil. However, the heterogeneity of soil pore spaces and the resulting fragmented aqueous habitats are known to significantly impede microbial disper...
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Elsevier
2025-08-01
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| Series: | Geoderma |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016706125002575 |
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| author | Yan Wang Ali Ebrahimi Guowei Chen Zi Zhang Kun Zhu Shane Franklin Yan Jin Ying Liu Gang Wang |
| author_facet | Yan Wang Ali Ebrahimi Guowei Chen Zi Zhang Kun Zhu Shane Franklin Yan Jin Ying Liu Gang Wang |
| author_sort | Yan Wang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Microbial dispersal and subsequent colonization of new niches are fundamental processes in microbial ecology, particularly in patchy environments like soil. However, the heterogeneity of soil pore spaces and the resulting fragmented aqueous habitats are known to significantly impede microbial dispersal rates and ranges. Despite this, the strategies microbes employ to overcome these abiotic constraints remain poorly understood. To address this, we developed a novel experimental system using porous ceramic surfaces to simulate hydrated soil environments, enabling direct quantification of early-stage bacterial colonization. Our findings reveal that distinct taxonomic and functional bacterial populations successfully colonized the porous ceramic surfaces, differing significantly from the original soil communities. Active motility and chemotaxis emerged as two key traits facilitating early-stage colonization. However, the advantages conferred by motility and chemotaxis were significantly reduced under drier soil conditions, typically at water contents below 25% (v/v). Under such conditions, non-motile bacteria relied on passive dispersal mechanisms or physical adhesion to colonize the porous surfaces. Furthermore, functional metagenomic profiling of the colonizing microbial populations uncovered a trade-off between growth and dispersal rates. This observed trade-off was incorporated into an agent-based model simulating microbial activity in soil, which explored how correlations between microbial functional genes influence community dynamics during early colonization. The simulations demonstrated that the growth-dispersal trade-off is crucial for enhancing and maintaining microbial diversity during colonization of new niches. Our study elucidates the key biophysical mechanisms driving microbial early-stage colonization dynamics from bulk soil to new environments, highlighting this process as a core ecological phenomenon in soil ecosystems. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a79b1607e4c54332b90c1d33fca372bd |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1872-6259 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geoderma |
| spelling | doaj-art-a79b1607e4c54332b90c1d33fca372bd2025-08-20T03:23:34ZengElsevierGeoderma1872-62592025-08-0146011741910.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117419Active motility and chemotactic movement regulate the microbial early-colonization and biodiversityYan Wang0Ali Ebrahimi1Guowei Chen2Zi Zhang3Kun Zhu4Shane Franklin5Yan Jin6Ying Liu7Gang Wang8Key Laboratory for Lake Pollution Control of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China; National Engineering Laboratory for Lake Pollution Control and Ecological Restoration, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, 100012, China; Department of Water & Soil Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, ChinaDepartment of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USADepartment of Civil Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, ChinaDepartment of Water & Soil Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, ChinaDepartment of Water & Soil Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, ChinaDepartment of Plant & Soil Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USADepartment of Plant & Soil Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USADepartment of Water & Soil Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, ChinaDepartment of Water & Soil Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China; National Black Soil Research, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China; Corresponding author at: Department of Water & Soil Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.Microbial dispersal and subsequent colonization of new niches are fundamental processes in microbial ecology, particularly in patchy environments like soil. However, the heterogeneity of soil pore spaces and the resulting fragmented aqueous habitats are known to significantly impede microbial dispersal rates and ranges. Despite this, the strategies microbes employ to overcome these abiotic constraints remain poorly understood. To address this, we developed a novel experimental system using porous ceramic surfaces to simulate hydrated soil environments, enabling direct quantification of early-stage bacterial colonization. Our findings reveal that distinct taxonomic and functional bacterial populations successfully colonized the porous ceramic surfaces, differing significantly from the original soil communities. Active motility and chemotaxis emerged as two key traits facilitating early-stage colonization. However, the advantages conferred by motility and chemotaxis were significantly reduced under drier soil conditions, typically at water contents below 25% (v/v). Under such conditions, non-motile bacteria relied on passive dispersal mechanisms or physical adhesion to colonize the porous surfaces. Furthermore, functional metagenomic profiling of the colonizing microbial populations uncovered a trade-off between growth and dispersal rates. This observed trade-off was incorporated into an agent-based model simulating microbial activity in soil, which explored how correlations between microbial functional genes influence community dynamics during early colonization. The simulations demonstrated that the growth-dispersal trade-off is crucial for enhancing and maintaining microbial diversity during colonization of new niches. Our study elucidates the key biophysical mechanisms driving microbial early-stage colonization dynamics from bulk soil to new environments, highlighting this process as a core ecological phenomenon in soil ecosystems.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016706125002575Soil biodiversityMicrobial dispersal strategyConfocal microscopyGenomic analysis |
| spellingShingle | Yan Wang Ali Ebrahimi Guowei Chen Zi Zhang Kun Zhu Shane Franklin Yan Jin Ying Liu Gang Wang Active motility and chemotactic movement regulate the microbial early-colonization and biodiversity Geoderma Soil biodiversity Microbial dispersal strategy Confocal microscopy Genomic analysis |
| title | Active motility and chemotactic movement regulate the microbial early-colonization and biodiversity |
| title_full | Active motility and chemotactic movement regulate the microbial early-colonization and biodiversity |
| title_fullStr | Active motility and chemotactic movement regulate the microbial early-colonization and biodiversity |
| title_full_unstemmed | Active motility and chemotactic movement regulate the microbial early-colonization and biodiversity |
| title_short | Active motility and chemotactic movement regulate the microbial early-colonization and biodiversity |
| title_sort | active motility and chemotactic movement regulate the microbial early colonization and biodiversity |
| topic | Soil biodiversity Microbial dispersal strategy Confocal microscopy Genomic analysis |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016706125002575 |
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