The biogeography of host‐associated bacterial microbiomes: Revisiting classic biodiversity patterns

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundThe question of which ecological and evolutionary processes structure the distribution of biodiversity has intrigued scientists for centuries, and historically, inferences have been gained predominantly by studying animals and plants. Although substantial progress has been made towards understanding the multitude of factors that shape host‐associated microbial communities (i.e., microbiomes), it remains largely unknown whether large‐scale geographical patterns in diversity observed for macroorganisms also apply for their microbiomes and whether microbiomes are shaped by the same processes that appear key for determining biogeographical patterns in their hosts.The geographical distribution of microbiome diversityWe discuss challenges and potential approaches for studying microbiome biogeography, with the goal of inspiring future lines of research that can stimulate the development of new ecological and evolutionary theory in the microbiome field. The theory and examples presented here focus specifically on bacterial microbiomes, and we give an overview of host‐associated bacterial microbiome research beginning to examine some of the classic biodiversity patterns central to the fields of ecology and evolution.Potential impacts of microbiome variation for host ecology and evolutionMicrobiome diversity patterns are particularly important to consider because microbes are crucial for many aspects of the biology of their hosts. We discuss how more comprehensive knowledge of the geographical variation of microbiome diversity at the host individual and population levels might be crucial for understanding host ecology and evolution.