16S rRNA amplicon sequences from a 26-strain synthetic bacterial community Raw sequence reads
Microbial communities are often more species-rich than expected from traditional ecological theory. The high levels of coexistence observed in nature are typically attributed to equalizing and stabilizing forces that modulate niche availability, inter- and intraspecific interactions, and community stability; however, niche variation across resources, space, and time have not been tested together experimentally to determine how they affect community responses. Here, we use 26 bacterial strains previously isolated from Sarracenia purpurea aquatic pools to construct and expose species-rich synthetic communities to four environmental conditions in a fully factorial design to create combinations of resource complexity, spatial niche structure, and temporal fluctuations.