Theory 38/New analysis/Microbiome
Strains Turn Over Before Function Changes
The claim
Microbiome strain replacement precedes functional change, so species-level stability hides a community already committed to a new function.
01Mechanism
Function is often strain-specific; replacing a strain changes capability before abundance shifts.
02Prediction
Functional change should follow strain turnover with a lag.
03Refutation
Function tracking species composition would remove the strain term.