Microbial functional diversity: From concepts to applications

• Published in: Ecology and evolution Vol. 9; no. 20; pp. 12000 - 12016
• Main Authors: Escalas, Arthur, Hale, Lauren, Voordeckers, James W., Yang, Yunfeng, Firestone, Mary K., Alvarez‐Cohen, Lisa, Zhou, Jizhong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bognor Regis John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.10.2019; Wiley Open Access; Wiley; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES; Biodiversity; Biodiversity and Ecology; Biogeochemical cycles; Ecological function; Ecological monitoring; Ecology; Ecology, environment; Ecosystems; Environmental changes; Environmental Sciences; functional diversity; functional traits; Functionals; Life Sciences; microbial communities; Microorganisms; Organisms; Review; Reviews; Synthesis; theoretical frameworks of diversity; trait‐based ecology; Trophic relationships; United States > US; differentiation; traits; biodiversity; niche space; genes; biogeography; soil; microbial communities; taxonomy; theoretical frameworks of diversity; bacterial communities; functional diversity; functional traits; redundancy; trait-based ecology
• ISSN: 2045-7758; 2045-7758
• DOI: 10.1002/ece3.5670

Functional diversity is increasingly recognized by microbial ecologists as the essential link between biodiversity patterns and ecosystem functioning, determining the trophic relationships and interactions between microorganisms, their participation in biogeochemical cycles, and their responses to environmental changes. Consequently, its definition and quantification have practical and theoretical implications. In this opinion paper, we present a synthesis on the concept of microbial functional diversity from its definition to its application. Initially, we revisit to the original definition of functional diversity, highlighting two fundamental aspects, the ecological unit under study and the functional traits used to characterize it. Then, we discuss how the particularities of the microbial world disallow the direct application of the concepts and tools developed for macroorganisms. Next, we provide a synthesis of the literature on the types of ecological units and functional traits available in microbial functional ecology. We also provide a list of more than 400 traits covering a wide array of environmentally relevant functions. Lastly, we provide examples of the use of functional diversity in microbial systems based on the different units and traits discussed herein. It is our hope that this paper will stimulate discussions and help the growing field of microbial functional ecology to realize a potential that thus far has only been attained in macrobial ecology. Functional diversity is increasingly recognized in microbial ecology as the essential link between biodiversity patterns and ecosystem functioning. However, this concept has no clear definition in microbial systems which impairs its applicability. Here, we provide a synthesis on the concept of microbial functional diversity, from its origin to its application.