Sociomicrobiome of wood decay in a tropical rain forest: unraveling complexity

Given that microbial interactions in nature are very complex, we propose that quorum-sensing, as well as quorum-quenching, phenazine and secondary metabolite production, resistance and toxin-antitoxin systems within a microbial community should all comprise the battery of processes involving the study of what we would define as the “sociomicrobiome”. In the present study the genes/molecules, subsystems and taxonomic breakup of the mentioned processes were identified in decaying tropical wood from the El Yunque rainforest in Puerto Rico, and soil using a shotgun metagenomic approach. The rapid decomposition of wood and litter in tropical regions suggests that processes in these settings are governed by unexplored microbes with the potential of being further studied and exploited for various purposes. Both ecosystems were characterized by the presence of specific genes/molecules, subsystems and microbes associated with the mentioned processes, although the average abundances for specific processes differed. Of the sociomicrobiomes studied, that from El Yunque was found to be the most complex. The approach considered in the present study could also be applied to study the sociomicrobiome of other ecosystems.