I read some papers using network analysis to study the interaction between different groups of microbes in different soils. I have very little knowledge about this type of analysis. How good it such analysis or similar analysis? Is these type of analysis limited to hypothesis generation?
Network analysis is becoming an increasing popular method for implying functional relationships in complex microbial communities. The computational methods are relatively straightforward and the graphical presentations look interesting and compelling. However, it is my opinion that the interpretation of co-occurrence networks, particularly those derived from 16S phylogenetic data, is still fairly insecure, and the assumption that two phylotypes which show a co-occurrence pattern are functionally related is still open to criticism and a need for experimental verification. I append a short but relevant 'methods' section.
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