The collapse and re-establishment of stability regulate the gradual transition of bacterial communities from macrophytes- to phytoplankton-dominated types in a large eutrophic lake

Eutrophic lakes often exhibit two alternative types: macrophytes-dominated (MD) and phytoplankton-dominated (PD). However, the nature of bacterial community types that whether the transition from the MD to the PD types occurs in a gradual or abrupt manner remains hotly debated. Further, the theoretical recognition that stability regulates the transition of bacterial community types remains qualitative. To address these issues, we divided the transition of bacterial communities along a trophic gradient into 12 successional stages, ranging from the MD to the PD types. Results showed that 12 states were clustered into three distinct regimes: MD type, intermediate transitional type and PD type. Bacterial communities were not different between consecutive stages, suggesting that the transition of alternative types occurs in a continuous gradient. At the same time, the stability of bacterial communities was significantly lower in the intermediate type than in the MD or PD types, highlighting that the collapse and re-establishment of community stability regulate the transition. Further, our results showed that the high complexity of taxon interactions and strong stochastic processes disrupt the stability. Ultimately, this study enables deeper insights into understanding the alternative types of microbial communities in the view of community stability. Stability steers the emergence of alternative bacterial communities in a gradual way.

Automated summary

The transition of bacterial community types in eutrophic lakes occurs gradually, with stability playing a crucial role in regulating the transition. The high complexity of taxon interactions and stochastic processes disrupt stability and influence the emergence of different bacterial communities.