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Microorganisms
Special Issues
Microbial Interactions and Community Assembly Mechanisms
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Microbial Interactions and Community Assembly Mechanisms

A Special Issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607) belonging to the section "Microbiomes".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2027 | Viewed by 355

Editor

Prof. Dr. Yulin Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Jinan, China
Interests: microbial network; microbial interactions; gut microbiome

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Microbial communities, composed of diverse and functionally specialized microorganisms, play essential roles in regulating ecological balance and maintaining ecosystem functionality. The interactions between microbes, such as competition, cooperation, predation, and mutualism, govern the structure and stability of these communities. Understanding these interactions and the underlying mechanisms driving community assembly is crucial for harnessing microbial communities for beneficial applications, including disease prevention, biotechnology, and ecosystem restoration.

Here, we introduce this Special Issue, titled “Microbial Interactions and Community Assembly Mechanisms”, which explores the intricate dynamics of microbial interactions and the complex mechanisms governing the assembly of microbial communities. This Special Issue covers the full research process, from fundamental studies of microbial interactions and community dynamics to advanced computational modeling, systems biology approaches, and bioinformatics tools.

We invite you to submit original articles and reviews. Suggested themes include, but are not limited to, cross-feeding and nutrient exchange in microbial communities, microbial community responses to biotic and/or abiotic factors, parasitism in microbial symbiosis, phage-bacteria coevolution and its impact on microbial community dynamics, and methodological approaches in the study of microbial interactions and community assembly. We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Yulin Wang
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Microorganisms is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • microbial ecology
  • microbial interactions
  • microbial adaptation
  • community reassembly
  • symbiotic interactions
  • phage–bacteria interactions
  • multiomics
  • microbial network
  • microbial stability
  • inter-species communication

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

15 pages, 1042 KB  
Article
High-Throughput Sequencing Reveals Composition, Diversity, and Functional Prediction of Root-Associated Microbial Communities of Dominant Plants in an Ecologically Sensitive Area of the Loess Plateau
by Gexue Bai, Qingqing Tan, Bingbing Han, Ruidong Li, Lijun Gu, Xiaojing Wang, Jie Zhang, Yan Li and Quanfang Zhang
Microorganisms 2026, 14(9), 2002; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms14092002 - 9 Sep 2026
Abstract
The alpine mining area of the Qilian Mountains features a fragile ecosystem, severe soil degradation due to mining disturbances, and slow natural recovery. To clarify the ecological restoration potential of rhizosphere microorganisms associated with native dominant plants, this study investigated the community structure, [...] Read more.
The alpine mining area of the Qilian Mountains features a fragile ecosystem, severe soil degradation due to mining disturbances, and slow natural recovery. To clarify the ecological restoration potential of rhizosphere microorganisms associated with native dominant plants, this study investigated the community structure, diversity, and functional differentiation patterns of rhizosphere bacterial and fungal communities associated with seven native dominant plant species in the Tianzhu mining area. Using Illumina NovaSeq 6000 high-throughput sequencing, we amplified the bacterial 16S rRNA V3–V4 region and the fungal ITS1 region. A total of 24 sequencing libraries (seven plant species + bare soil, three replicates each) were analyzed. Bioinformatics analyses examined ASV distributions, alpha/beta diversity, species composition, and differentially enriched taxa, followed by functional predictions. Bacterial alpha diversity (Chao1: 623.39–1553.25; Shannon: 7.49–9.67) varied significantly among plant species, with Allium przewalskianum (AP) showing the highest bacterial richness and diversity (Chao1 = 1553.25 ± 35.89, Shannon = 9.67 ± 0.02). Fungal alpha diversity also showed significant variation (Chao1:69.66–488.56; Shannon: 3.24–4.96), with Dasiphora fruticosa (DF) exhibiting the highest fungal diversity (Chao1 = 488.56 ± 18.71, Shannon = 7.32 ± 0.06). At the phylum level, Proteobacteria (32.22–50.32%) and Actinobacteriota (15.04–23.19%) were core bacterial groups, and Ascomycota (45.54–96.07%) dominated fungal communities. PERMANOVA confirmed significant differences in community composition among plant species (bacteria: R2 = 0.78, p < 0.001; fungi: R2 = 0.84, p < 0.001). Different plant species were associated with distinct predicted functional taxa, which may serve as candidate biomarkers for soil remediation. However, all functional interpretations are predictive and require experimental validation. In conclusion, rhizosphere microbial community composition and predicted functional profiles differed among native plant species, providing correlative evidence and candidate targets for future vegetation–microbe synergy studies in alpine mining area restoration. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microbial Interactions and Community Assembly Mechanisms)
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