Dispersal alters bacterial diversity and composition in a natural community

Dispersal is central to the evolution and maintenance of microbial diversity. Quantifying microbial dispersal and its role in shaping communities remains a challenge, however. Here, we manipulated a bacterial community's dispersal rate in a grassland ecosystem and test whether this altered diversity and composition. We constructed bags of two nylon mesh sizes that allowed more or less bacterial movement and filled them with an edible or inedible substrate, irradiated plant litter or nylon sheets. We measured changes in bacterial abundance (using flow cytometry) and composition (using 16S amplicon sequencing) in the bags weekly over 5 months. The dispersal treatment altered bacterial colonization rates and led to differences in the abundance, richness, evenness and composition of communities. Overall, the study demonstrates that dispersal influences the assembly of this natural bacterial community.