None declared.Conflicts of interestEcological theory predicts that organismal distribution and abundance depend on the ability to adapt to environmental change. It also predicts that eukaryotic specialists and generalists will dominate in extreme environments or following environmental change, respectively. This theory has attracted little attention in prokaryotes, especially in archaea, which drive major global biogeochemical cycles. We tested this concept in Thaumarchaeota using pH niche breadth as a specialisation factor. Responses of archaeal growth and activity to pH disturbance were determined empirically in manipulated, long-term, pH-maintained soil plots. The distribution of specialists and generalists was uneven over the pH range, with specialists being more limited to the extreme range. Nonetheless, adaptation of generalists to environmental change was greater than that of specialists, except for environmental changes leading to more extreme conditions. The balance of generalism and specialism over longer timescales was further investigated across evolutionary history. Specialists and generalists diversified at similar rates, reflecting balanced benefits of each strategy, but a higher transition rate from generalists to specialists than the reverse was demonstrated, suggesting that metabolic specialism is more easily gained than metabolic versatility. This study provides evidence for a crucial ecological concept in prokaryotes, significantly extending our understanding of archaeal adaptation to environmental change.

中文翻译：

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生态位广度专业化影响环境变化后的生态和进化适应


没有人宣布。利益冲突生态学理论预测，生物体的分布和丰度取决于适应环境变化的能力。它还预测，真核生物专家和通才将分别在极端环境或环境变化后占据主导地位。这一理论在原核生物中很少引起关注，尤其是在驱动全球主要生物地球化学循环的古细菌中。我们在 Thaumarchaeota 中使用 pH 生态位广度作为特化因子测试了这个概念。在操纵的、长期的、pH 维持的土壤地块中，凭经验确定古细菌生长和活性对 pH 值干扰的响应。专家和通才在 pH 范围内的分布不均匀，专家更局限于极端范围。尽管如此，通才对环境变化的适应能力高于专家，除非环境变化导致更极端的条件。在进化史中，进一步研究了较长时间尺度上通才和专业化的平衡。专家和通才以相似的速度多样化，反映了每种策略的平衡益处，但证明从通才到专家的转换率高于相反的转变率，这表明代谢专业性比代谢多功能性更容易获得。这项研究为原核生物中的一个关键生态概念提供了证据，显着扩展了我们对古细菌对环境变化适应的理解。