Soil Aggregates and Fertilizer Treatments Drive Bacterial Interactions via Interspecies Niche Overlap
Xiang Xiong, Hao Liao, Yanfang Xing, Xukun Han, Wanle Wang, Wenjie Wan, Qiaoyun Huang, Wenli Chen
Abstract
Despite that the influence of soil structure and fertilizer treatments on the bacterial community has been widely studied, how they drive interspecies interactions has not been largely explored. Connectance and nestedness were significantly correlated with bacterial interactions, but no differences were found in different soil aggregates and fertilizer treatments. However, interspecies niche overlap could respond to soil aggregates and fertilizer treatments and ultimately drive the bacterial interactions. This study enhances our understanding of the mechanism of microbial interactions and highlights the importance of trophic patterns in the bacterial community. Our findings extend knowledge for nutrient availability on interspecific interactions.