Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jaclyn K. Saunders, Matthew R. McIlvin, Chris L. Dupont, Drishti Kaul, Dawn M. Moran, Tristan Horner, Sarah M. Laperriere, Eric A. Webb, Tanja Bosak, Alyson E. Santoro, Mak A. Saito
Summary: Enzymes play a crucial role in Earth's life-sustaining biogeochemical cycles. In this study, metaproteomics was used to investigate the enzymatic capabilities of microbial communities in the central Pacific Ocean. The results showed abundant key functions as well as diverse functions, with the microbial community being influenced by environmental features and displaying variations at different scales. The study also identified previously understudied metabolic pathways and provided important empirical data for biogeochemical models.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Sana Romdhane, Ayme Spor, Julie Aubert, David Bru, Marie-Christine Breuil, Sara Hallin, Arnaud Mounier, Sarah Ouadah, Myrto Tsiknia, Laurent Philippot
Summary: This study utilized a top-down manipulation approach to investigate the role of biotic interactions in shaping soil microbial communities, revealing the importance of such interactions and identifying microbial community assembly rules. Modified biotic interactions had a greater impact on activities related to nitrogen cycling than carbon cycling, providing insights into microbial interactions in complex ecosystems and their relationship with ecosystem function.
Article
Agricultural Engineering
Angel Estevez-Alonso, Mark C. M. van Loosdrecht, Robbert Kleerebezem, Alan Werker
Summary: Research has shown that controlling the dissolved oxygen concentration in microbial community-based PHA production can reduce the activity of nitrifying bacteria while promoting PHA production. By utilizing the oxygen provided by nitrifying bacteria to supply the nitrate required for PHA production, maximum PHA production rates can be maintained.
BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Mei Zhi, Mengjiao Ou, Yucheng Chen, Yeyuan Xiao, Zhongbo Zhou
Summary: Nitrite accumulation in algal-bacterial consortia without aeration was evaluated in this study. Two different algal-bacterial systems (PSBR and PUSB) were operated and non-aerated partial nitrification was observed. Higher nitrite accumulation was achieved in PSBR due to enrichment of Phormidium and Leptolyngbya and inhibition of Nitrospira. PUSB showed more intensive interspecific interactions and potential contribution of partial denitrification to nitrite accumulation. This study advances our understanding of the partial nitrification process and nitrite accumulation by algal-bacterial consortia.
JOURNAL OF WATER PROCESS ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Elizaveta Koroleva, Aza Zizipo Mqulwa, Scott Norris-Jones, Sidney Reed, Zahraa Tambe, Aiden Visagie, Karin Jacobs
Summary: The study revealed that biodegradable cigarette butts had a significant impact on the bacterial community composition of soil compared to non-biodegradable butts, likely due to higher concentrations of certain metals and metalloids in their leachate. Cigarette butts primarily contain microplastics, toxic metals, and metalloids, which can leach into the soil.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
(2021)
Editorial Material
Microbiology
Jimmy H. W. Saw
Summary: Microbial communities are often dominated by a few species, with a long tail of rare biosphere microorganisms that are highly diverse but found in low abundance. They play important roles in maintaining community integrity and resilience, and their phylogenetic diversity is crucial for understanding microbial diversity and evolution. Further efforts should be made to study these poorly understood microbial lineages that hold vast potential for advancing our understanding of microbial diversity, ecology, and evolution on Earth.
Article
Agronomy
Wei Zhang, Yan Ma, Xuan Yang, Xiuchun Xu, Bang Ni, Rui Liu, Fanqiao Meng
Summary: This study investigates the effects of the nitrogen stabilizers DMPP and NBPT on soil microbial communities. The results show that long-term application of DMPP and NBPT can reduce nitrous oxide emissions, and DMPP can decrease the diversity of ammonia oxidizers. Long-term urea application increases the potential nitrification rate of ammonia oxidizers, while DMPP weakens this effect.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Philip Nemoy, Ehud Spanier, Dror L. Angel
Summary: This study found that the oxidizing ability of the sponge C. reniformis is not necessarily related to the concentration of ammonium in the surrounding seawater, suggesting that the nitrification activity of sponge-associated microbes may not be correlated with the concentration of ammonium in the seawater.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Emanuela Claudia La Marca, Valentina Catania, Marcello Tagliavia, Anna Maria Mannino, Renato Chemello, Paola Quatrini
Summary: Research on marine invertebrate settlement shows that the maturity of biofilms strongly influences the settlement of vermetids, indicating potential for using ideal biofilm substrates to repopulate degraded reefs.
MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
(2021)
Review
Soil Science
Jean-Christophe Lata, Xavier Le Roux, Kouame Fulgence Koffi, Lambienou Ye, Tharaniya Srikanthasamy, Sarah Konare, Sebastien Barot
Summary: It is important to study biological nitrification inhibition (BNI) from an ecological and evolutionary perspective to understand its implications for plants, soil nitrifiers, and ecosystems. Research questions should focus on the distribution and selection of BNI across plant phylogeny, the cost-to-benefit balance of producing BNI compounds, the evolutionary pressures and environmental conditions favoring BNI plants, coevolution of BNI with plant preference for ammonium vs. nitrate, implications of diversity in BNI compounds and inhibition mechanisms, impacts of BNI compounds on other soil functions, evaluation of BNI's influence on plant-plant competition and coexistence, assessment of BNI's effects on nitrogen cycling and primary production, and evaluation of BNI's impact on nitrogen budgets and climate at the regional scale.
BIOLOGY AND FERTILITY OF SOILS
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Feilun Wu, Yuanchi Ha, Andrea Weiss, Meidi Wang, Jeffrey Letourneau, Shangying Wang, Nan Luo, Shuquan Huang, Charlotte T. Lee, Lawrence A. David, Lingchong You
Summary: Spatial partitioning modulates the dynamics of microbial communities, promoting the persistence of populations with negative interactions and suppressing those with positive interactions. An intermediate level of partitioning maximizes the overall diversity of the community.
NATURE CHEMICAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Theodor Sperlea, Jan Philip Schenk, Hagen Dressler, Daniela Beisser, Georges Hattab, Jens Boenigk, Dominik Heider
Summary: Microbes play a vital role in element cycling and ecosystem functioning, yet there are still many unanswered questions about their role in ecology. This study analyzes the relationship between lake microbiomes and the land cover surrounding the lakes using machine learning methods. The results show that the microbial community of the lakes is significantly correlated with herbaceous and open spaces, but the correlation with land cover categories is generally lower than with physico-chemical parameters. The integration of land cover and physico-chemical bioindicators provides insights into the environmental drivers of the lake microbial community composition and allows for the study of the ecosystem's structure from the standpoint of the microbiome.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Fisheries
R. B. Koenig, P. S. Furtado, W. Wasielesky Jr, P. C. Abreu
Summary: BFT technology allows high-density aquaculture with low effluent production by utilizing flocs colonized with aerobic heterotrophic and chemoautotrophic biota. The addition of hydrogen peroxide can help maintain dissolved oxygen levels, but excessive use can negatively impact organisms, particularly ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and planktonic algae.
Article
Biology
Kimberly E. Roche, Johannes R. Bjork, Mauna R. Dasari, Laura Grieneisen, David Jansen, Trevor J. Gould, Laurence R. Gesquiere, Luis B. Barreiro, Susan C. Alberts, Ran Blekhman, Jack A. Gilbert, Jenny Tung, Sayan Mukherjee, Elizabeth A. Archie
Summary: The ecological relationships between bacteria play an important role in the gut microbiome's impact on host health. This study investigates the universality of these relationships across hosts and finds that most bacterial correlations are weak, negative, and universal. Hosts with similar correlation patterns also tend to have similar microbiome taxonomic compositions and genetic relations. The universality in baboons is similar to human infants and stronger than one data set from human adults.
Article
Microbiology
Xiao-Lin Chu, Quan-Guo Zhang, Angus Buckling, Meaghan Castledine
Summary: Our study found that increasing diversity in competitive communities leads to increased morphological diversity in focal species by impeding the domination of a single morphotype. More diverse communities are more likely to contain key species that occupy the same niche as otherwise competitively superior morphotypes, thus preventing competitive exclusion within the focal species.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)