Print Email Facebook Twitter Challenges in microbial ecology Title Challenges in microbial ecology: Building predictive understanding of community function and dynamics Author Widder, Stefanie (University of Vienna) Allen, Rosalind J. (University of Edinburgh) Pfeiffer, Thomas (Massey University) Curtis, Thomas P. (Newcastle University) Wiuf, Carsten (University of Copenhagen) Sloan, William T. (University of Glasgow) Cordero, Otto X. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Brown, Sam P. (University of Edinburgh) Picioreanu, C. (TU Delft BT/Environmental Biotechnology) Momeni, Babak (Boston College; Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center) Date 2016 Abstract The importance of microbial communities (MCs) cannot be overstated. MCs underpin the biogeochemical cycles of the earth's soil, oceans and the atmosphere, and perform ecosystem functions that impact plants, animals and humans. Yet our ability to predict and manage the function of these highly complex, dynamically changing communities is limited. Building predictive models that link MC composition to function is a key emerging challenge in microbial ecology. Here, we argue that addressing this challenge requires close coordination of experimental data collection and method development with mathematical model building. We discuss specific examples where model-experiment integration has already resulted in important insights into MC function and structure. We also highlight key research questions that still demand better integration of experiments and models. We argue that such integration is needed to achieve significant progress in our understanding of MC dynamics and function, and we make specific practical suggestions as to how this could be achieved. To reference this document use: http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:0c4efc87-00a8-4518-9a3b-c83e45b66c1f DOI https://doi.org/10.1038/ismej.2016.45 ISSN 1751-7362 Source The ISME Journal: multidisciplinary journal of microbial ecology, 10 (11), 2557-2568 Part of collection Institutional Repository Document type review Rights © 2016 Stefanie Widder, Rosalind J. Allen, Thomas Pfeiffer, Thomas P. Curtis, Carsten Wiuf, William T. Sloan, Otto X. Cordero, Sam P. Brown, C. Picioreanu, More Authors, Babak Momeni Files PDF ismej201645.pdf 2.07 MB Close viewer /islandora/object/uuid:0c4efc87-00a8-4518-9a3b-c83e45b66c1f/datastream/OBJ/view