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The evolution of realized niches within freshwater Synechococcus
Author(s) -
Tromas Nicolas,
Taranu Zofia E.,
Castelli Mathieu,
Pimentel Juliana S. M.,
Pereira Daniel A.,
Marcoz Romane,
Shapiro B. Jesse,
Giani Alessandra
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
environmental microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.954
H-Index - 188
eISSN - 1462-2920
pISSN - 1462-2912
DOI - 10.1111/1462-2920.14930
Subject(s) - ecological niche , biology , abiotic component , niche , ecology , phylogenetic tree , niche segregation , synechococcus , habitat , evolutionary biology , cyanobacteria , gene , genetics , bacteria
Summary Understanding how ecological traits have changed over evolutionary time is a fundamental question in biology. Specifically, the extent to which more closely related organisms share similar ecological preferences due to phylogenetic conservation – or if they are forced apart by competition – is still debated. Here, we explored the co‐occurrence patterns of freshwater cyanobacteria at the sub‐genus level to investigate whether more closely related taxa share more similar niches and to what extent these niches were defined by abiotic or biotic variables. We used deep 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and measured several abiotic environmental parameters (nutrients, temperature, etc.) in water samples collected over time and space in Furnas Reservoir, Brazil. We found that relatively more closely related Synechococcus (in the continuous range of 93%–100% nucleotide identity in 16S) had an increased tendency to co‐occur with one another (i.e. had similar realized niches). This tendency could not be easily explained by shared preferences for measured abiotic niche dimensions. Thus, commonly measured abiotic parameters might not be sufficient to characterize, nor to predict community assembly or dynamics. Rather, co‐occurrence between Synechococcus and the surrounding community (whether or not they represent true biological interactions) may be a more sensitive measure of realized niches. Overall, our results suggest that realized niches are phylogenetically conserved, at least at the sub‐genus level and at the resolution of the 16S marker. Determining how these results generalize to other genera and at finer genetic resolution merits further investigation.