Microbial active functional modules derived from network analysis and metabolic interactions decipher the complex microbiome assembly in mangrove sediments

BACKGROUND: The metabolic interactions of microbes significantly affect the assembly of microbial communities that play important roles in biogeochemical processes. However, most interspecies interactions between microorganisms in natural communities remain unknown, leading to a poor understanding of community assembly mechanisms. RESULTS: Here, we used a genome-scale metabolic modeling-based approach to explore the potential interactions among bacteria and archaea in mangrove sediments. More than half of the assembled microbial species ([Formula: see text] ) combined about 3000 pairwise metabolic interaction relationship with high potential. The examples of predicted interactions are consistent with the implications of studies based on microbial enrichment/culture, indicating the feasibility of our strategy for extracting diverse potential interactions from complex interspecies networks. Moreover, a substantial number of previously unknown microbial metabolic interactions were also predicted. We proposed a concept of microbial active functional module (mAFM), defined as a consortium constituted by a group of microbes possessing relatively high metabolic interactions via which they can actively realize certain dominant functions in element transformations. Based on the metabolic interactions and the transcript distribution of microorganisms, five mAFMs distributed in different layers of the sediments were identified. The whole group of mAFMs covered most of the principal pathways in the cycle of carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur, while each module possessed divergently dominant functions. According to thinctiis diston, we inferred that the mAFMs participated in the element cycles via their intra-cycle and the inter-exchange among them and the sediments. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study greatly expanded interaction potential of microbes in mangrove sediments, which could provide supports for prospective mutualistic system construction and microbial enrichment culture. Furthermore, the mAFMs can help to extract valuable microbial metabolic interactions from the whole community and to profile the functioning of the microbial community that promote biogeochemical cycling in mangrove sediments. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40168-022-01421-w.