The rates of global bacterial and archaeal dispersal

The phylogenetic resolution at which microorganisms display geographic endemism, the rates at which they disperse at global scales, and the role of humans on global microbial dispersal are largely unknown. Answering these questions is necessary for interpreting microbial biogeography, ecology, and macroevolution and for predicting the spread of emerging pathogenic strains. To resolve these questions, I analyzed the geographic and evolutionary relationships between 36,795 bacterial and archaeal (prokaryotic) genomes from similar to 7000 locations around the world. I find clear signs of continental-scale endemism, including strong correlations between phylogenetic divergence and geographic distance. However, the phylogenetic scale at which endemism generally occurs is extremely small, and most species (defined by an average nucleotide identity >= 95%) and even closely related strains (average nucleotide identity >= 99.9%) are globally distributed. Human-associated lineages display faster dispersal rates than other terrestrial lineages; the average net distance between any two human-associated cell lineages diverging 50 years ago is roughly 580 km. These results suggest that many previously reported global-scale microbial biogeographical patterns are likely the result of recent or current environmental filtering rather than geographic endemism. For human-associated lineages, estimated transition rates between Europe and North America are particularly high, and much higher than for non-human associated terrestrial lineages, highlighting the role that human movement plays in global microbial dispersal. Dispersal was slowest for hot spring- and terrestrial subsurface-associated lineages, indicating that these environments may act as isolated islands of microbial evolution.

Automated summary

The study found that microorganisms exhibit continental-scale endemism, but this endemism generally occurs at extremely small phylogenetic scales, with most species and closely related strains being globally distributed. Human activities have a significant impact on microbial dispersal, with human-associated lineages dispersing faster than other terrestrial lineages.