Phylogenetic clustering increases with elevation for microbes

Abstract

Although phylogenetic approaches are useful for providing insights into the processes underlying biodiversity patterns, the studies of microbial phylogenetic relatedness are rare, especially for elevational gradients. Using high-throughput pyrosequencing, we examined the biodiversity patterns for biofilm bacterial communities that were scraped from stream stones along an elevational gradient from 1820 to 4050m in China. The patterns of bacterial species richness and phylogenetic diversity were hollow towards higher elevations. The bacterial communities consisted of closer relatives than expected and displayed increasing terminal phylogenetic clustering towards mountain top. The increasing ph..