Diversity, evolution, and function in microbial communities

Background

The interconnection of species and genetic diversity with ecosystem function has long been a central topic in ecology, yet it is still unclear how this relationship evolves over time. Understanding how changes across hierarchical levels - from genes, to communities, to ecosystems - influence one another is undoubtedly complicated. An ideal experimental study system combines the complexity of natural communities and environments with the control and quick generation times of laboratory evolution experiments. This PhD presents natural microbial communities of Mabisi – a traditionally fermented milk beverage from Zambia – as a model system to investigate the interacting roles of evolution and diversity on community function. 

Project description

In this project I use Mabisi, a traditionally fermented milk beverage from Zambia, as a model system to investigate the relationship between diversity and microbial community function on an evolutionary timescale. Mabisi provides an innovative approach to strike a balance between the controlled, quick generation times of laboratory microbial studies, with the complexity, yet resemblance to diverse natural communities and their environment.