For a long time, the ecological niche concept was less popular for microbes than for other organisms. A new proxy for the ecological niche breadth of a microorganism, based on the variability of the communities with which it associates, enables investigation of the correlates of being a social generalist or social specialist.
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Muller, E.E.L. The social dimension of microbial niches. Nat Ecol Evol 7, 649–650 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-023-02020-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-023-02020-0