Species per sistence patterns of soil bacteria and fungi after dilution disturbance

Relationship of species per sistence probability and local abundance was investigated to test
whether dynamics of microbial community follows neutral hypothesis. Native soil was collected from the field,
and soil microcosms were exposed to dilution disturbances to remove certain very rare species. Bacteria and
 fungi species compositions in the microcosms after incubation recovery were then compared with source soils,
as assessed by 454 high-through put pyrosequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA genes and fungi 18S rRNA genes,
detecting species with an abundance of ≥1 in each community. Species diversity was found to decrease
dramatically (by >50%); chances of persistence of soil bacteria and fungi species were positively correlated
within itial abundance. These data are consistent with predictions by neutral hypothesis: i.e., a positive
abundance-persistence relationship.