Metagenomics at the global scale: Plant microbes across the Nutrient Network

At the global scale, human changes to nutrient supply rates and food web composition are altering the functioning of whole ecosystems. At the other end of the spectrum of spatial scale, host nutrient supply can change the composition and relative abundance of microbes within single host individuals, and these changes can control individual host function and interactions among individuals and species. Bridging these scales to understand the generalities and contingencies determining the role of global change in determining within-host microbial communities poses significant challenges that will benefit from new theoretical, empirical, and sociological approaches to scientific inquiry.