Detalle de: A cascade of localized transitions drives system-wide microbial collapse

Loss of resilience often precedes abrupt, catastrophic failure in complex natural systems, yet the underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown. Here, we experimentally track a critical transition in a model methanogenic microbial ecosystem to uncover the drivers of system-wide collapse. We show that the collapse emerges not from simultaneous failure, but from a cascade of localized transitions involving significant shifts in the dynamics of 234 microbial species, 154 metabolites, 85 network properties, and 48 core biochemical reactions. This cascade progressively displaces methane-critical microbes and metabolites from their network hubs, propagating disruptions that dismantle critical network structure and severely impair core metabolic pathways. The accumulated effect of these localized transitions, which is amplified by positive feedback, ultimately terminates methane production. Our high-resolution molecular mapping of the cascade provides unprecedented mechanistic insights into how localized transitions coalesce, driving catastrophic, system-wide collapse. This framework is crucial for understanding and potentially anticipating critical transitions in microbial and other complex natural systems.