title: An integrative approach to understanding microbial diversity: from intracellular mechanisms to community structure.
abstract: Trade-offs have been put forward as essential to the generation and maintenance of diversity. However, variation in trade-offs is often determined at the molecular level, outside the scope of conventional ecological inquiry. In this study, we propose that understanding the intracellular basis for trade-offs in microbial systems can aid in predicting and interpreting patterns of diversity. First, we show how laboratory experiments and mathematical models have unveiled the hidden intracellular mechanisms underlying trade-offs key to microbial diversity: (i) metabolic and regulatory trade-offs in bacteria and yeast; (ii) life-history trade-offs in bacterial viruses. Next, we examine recent studies of marine microbes that have taken steps toward reconciling the molecular and the ecological views of trade-offs, despite the challenges in doing so in natural settings. Finally, we suggest avenues for research where mathematical modelling, experiments and studies of natural microbial communities provide a unique opportunity to integrate studies of diversity across multiple scales.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematics, Imperial College London, London SW72A7, UK.
authors.forename: Ivana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Gudelj
authors.forename: Joshua S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Weitz
authors.forename: Tom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ferenci
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Claire Horner-Devine
authors.forename: Christopher J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Marx
authors.forename: Justin R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Meyer
authors.forename: Samantha E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Forde
mesh_terms: D001435:Bacteriophages / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D044822:Biodiversity; D000458:Cyanobacteria / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology / Q000821:virology; D014644:Genetic Variation; D010839:Phytoplankton / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D013312:Stress, Physiological; D014871:Water Microbiology