Geometry and evolution of the ecological niche in plant-associated microbes.
Nat Commun
; 11(1): 2955, 2020 06 11.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-32528123
ABSTRACT
The ecological niche can be thought of as a volume in multidimensional space, where each dimension describes an abiotic condition or biotic resource required by a species. The shape, size, and evolution of this volume strongly determine interactions among species and influence their current and potential geographical distributions, but the geometry of niches is poorly understood. Here, we analyse temperature response functions and host plant ranges for hundreds of potentially destructive plant-associated fungi and oomycetes. We demonstrate that niche specialization is uncorrelated on abiotic (i.e. temperature response) and biotic (i.e. host range) axes, that host interactions restrict fundamental niche breadth to form the realized niche, and that both abiotic and biotic niches show limited phylogenetic constraint. The ecological terms 'generalist' and 'specialist' therefore do not apply to these microbes, as specialization evolves independently on different niche axes. This adaptability makes plant pathogens a formidable threat to agriculture and forestry.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Plants
Type of study:
Risk_factors_studies
Language:
En
Journal:
Nat Commun
Journal subject:
BIOLOGIA
/
CIENCIA
Year:
2020
Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
United kingdom