Toward a fundamental theory of taxon transitions in microbial communities

Technological breakthroughs have fostered an appreciation for the microbiome and revolutionized our understanding of many parts of the tree of life. These discoveries have implications as far-ranging as one can imagine, from how we diagnose and treat ailments at the clinical bedside to questions regarding how life emerged and diversified throughout the biosphere. While the early study of the microbiota focused mostly on identifying its composition, recent years have explored the fundamental forces that shape the microbiota and how communities are structured. In a recent study published in PNAS, Long et al. develop a theoretical framework that can help to explain the transient dynamics of microbial communities, where the composition of the microbes in a community undergoes rapid change.