Article
Microbiology
Jean F. Power, Caitlin L. Lowe, Carlo R. Carere, Ian R. McDonald, S. Craig Cary, Matthew B. Stott
Summary: This study provides a comprehensive temporal analysis of bacterial and archaeal communities in geothermal features in New Zealand. The results show that temperature and physicochemical properties of groundwater are the major parameters affecting these features, rather than composition. Furthermore, pH variation has a significant impact on community structure compared to temperature, indicating that alpha diversity is not sufficient to accurately measure microbial temporal disparity in geothermal features.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jennifer M. Polinski, Mattie Rodrigue, Jason D. Meyer, Matthew J. Harke
Summary: This study focuses on hydrothermal vent plume waters above the Moytirra hydrothermal vent field and examines the biodiversity and metabolic activities of the microbial communities in the plume. The results reveal a rich diversity of microorganisms and suggest the importance of sulfur compounds as an energy source in these waters. The study also highlights the decreasing metabolic functions and quiescent stages of bacterial communities with distance from the vent source.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2023)
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
Microbiology
Patrick H. Thieringer, Alexander S. Honeyman, John R. Spear
Summary: The study focused on uniquely adapted microorganisms in the deep biosphere, the relationship between surface and subsurface microbial communities, and the dynamic nature of microbial composition in the near-subsurface. Additionally, the research explored the interconnectedness between surface influences and subsurface environments through geochemical processes.
MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Nittay Meroz, Nesli Tovi, Yael Sorokin, Jonathan Friedman
Summary: Managing and engineering microbial communities requires the ability to predict their composition. While little work has been done on predicting compositions on evolutionary timescales, this study shows that community composition typically changes during evolution, but the composition of replicate communities remains similar. These changes were also predictable, suggesting that it may be possible to forecast the evolution of microbial communities even on long timescales.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Takehiro Sasaki, Naohiro I. Ishii, Daichi Makishima, Rui Sutou, Akihito Goto, Yutaka Kawai, Hayami Taniguchi, Kunihiro Okano, Ayumi Matsuo, Alfred Lochner, Simone Cesarz, Yoshihisa Suyama, Kouki Hikosaka, Nico Eisenhauer
Summary: This study provides observational evidence that plant and microbial community composition, rather than diversity, are crucial for sustaining multifunctionality in subalpine moorlands. Furthermore, plant and bacterial beta diversity enhance the dissimilarity of moorland multifunctionality.
JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Microbiology
Reid G. Griggs, Kerri L. Steenwerth, David A. Mills, Dario Cantu, Nicholas A. Bokulich
Summary: Microbiomes play a crucial role in viticulture and winemaking, affecting grape health and wine quality. Understanding the sources and diversity of microbiota in vineyards is important for assessing wine quality and regional characteristics. The microbiota in fruit contributes to wine flavor and aroma, and studying these microbes is essential for evaluating the characteristics of regional wines.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Chloe M. Wu, Kelsey M. Wheeler, Gerardo Carcamo-Oyarce, Kazuhiro Aoki, Abigail McShane, Sujit S. Datta, Jessica L. Mark Welch, Michael Tiemeyer, Ann L. Griffen, Katharina Ribbeck
Summary: Human microbiome composition is influenced by the natural host environment, specifically mucus, which contains gel-forming glycoproteins (mucins) with regulatory functions. Mucin glycans enable the coexistence of diverse microbes and prevent disease-associated compositional shifts. Different glycosylation patterns of mucins shape microbial communities by providing nutrients, organizing spatial structure, and potentially limiting competition. This study highlights the importance of mucin glycans as a host mechanism and potential therapeutic approach for maintaining a healthy microbiome.
NPJ BIOFILMS AND MICROBIOMES
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yichen Hu, Amnon Amir, Xiaochang Huang, Yan Li, Shi Huang, Elaine Wolfe, Sophie Weiss, Rob Knight, Zhenjiang Zech Xu
Summary: This study tracked the dynamic changes of the saliva microbiome during human activities through a dense time series data. The results showed that eating activity significantly affected the salivary microbiota composition, with certain bacteria increasing after each meal. The composition of the microbiome also exhibited diurnal oscillation patterns at different taxonomy levels. This research emphasizes the importance of considering daily activities and diurnal factors in the design of oral microbiome studies.
Article
Microbiology
Nicholas B. Dragone, Jessica B. Henley, Hannah Holland-Moritz, Melisa Diaz, Ian D. Hogg, W. Berry Lyons, Diana H. Wall, Byron J. Adams, Noah Fierer
Summary: This study analyzed the impact of environmental properties on the taxonomic and functional diversity of microbial communities in Antarctic soils. It found that elevation is the key factor affecting the structure and composition of soil prokaryotic communities, with higher elevations harboring less diverse communities with distinct genomic attributes and life-history strategies. This study highlights the importance of studying community shifts across environmental gradients to improve our understanding of microbial diversity and adaptation strategies in extreme environments.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Philip F. Yang, Nicole Spanier, Parker Aldredge, Nabiha Shahid, Ashley Coleman, Jordan Lyons, J. Adam Langley
Summary: Microbes play a crucial role in biogeochemical transformations and understanding their variability is important for ecosystem function and climate change. However, it is uncertain to what extent microbial community composition controls biogeochemistry independently of other factors. We reviewed literature and conducted experiments to determine the influence of microbial richness on ecosystem function in natural environments.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Bowen Wang, Chengshuai Zhu, Yulan Hu, Bingjian Zhang, Jianlan Wang
Summary: The silk residues in the soil form a unique environment called the silksphere. This study proposes that the microbiota in the silksphere can be used as a biomarker for studying the degradation of ancient silk textiles. By monitoring the microbial community composition during silk degradation, the study shows that the silksphere microbiota differs significantly from the bulk soil microbiota. Certain microbial flora can be used as indicators of silk degradation, providing a new perspective for identifying archaeological silk residues.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Javad Sadeghi, Subba Rao Chaganti, Abdolrazagh Hashemi Shahraki, Daniel D. Heath
Summary: The study found significant differences in diversity and richness of aquatic bacterial communities in temperate Canadian lakes, influenced by environmental, spatial, and biotic factors. Deterministic and stochastic processes together determine the composition of aquatic bacterial communities.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Wanghong Su, Qian Han, Jiawei Yang, Qiaoling Yu, Sijie Wang, Xiaochen Wang, Jiapeng Qu, Huan Li
Summary: This study investigated the temporal turnover and assembly of gravesoil bacterial communities in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau ecosystem under controlled rainfall simulation experiments. The results showed that precipitation significantly altered bacterial abundances and community structures. In addition, it was found that moderate rainfall increased deterministic processes in the initial and mid periods, while heavy rainfall decreased these processes of community assembly.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Chunhui Zhang, Marc W. Cadotte, Alessandro Chiarucci, Michel Loreau, Charles G. Willis, Xingfeng Si, Lanping Li, Marcus V. Cianciaruso
Summary: Our research shows that plant community assembly on Mediterranean islands has dramatically changed due to increased human impacts over the past two centuries, with the shift in functional and phylogenetic structure of plant communities as island area increases. The extinction of similar species and colonization of dissimilar species have driven plant communities towards overdispersion, impacting the functioning of island ecosystems in the future.
JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Ana Rocio Borrero-Santiago, Walter Dellisanti, Andres Sanchez-Quinto, Javier Moreno-Andres, Philip Nemoy, Kumari Richa, Patricia Margarita Valdespino-Castillo, Daniel Diaz-de-Quijano, Vicente J. Ontiveros, Simone Fontana, Caterina R. Giner, Isabel Sanz-Saez, Mireia Mestre
Summary: In this review, we introduced Ramon Margalef's pioneering interdisciplinary approach to ecological studies and explored his vision of aquatic ecology. Drawing inspiration from his studies, we proposed an integrated approach using Margalef's Mandala concept to improve research on aquatic microbial ecology.
Article
Microbiology
Vicente J. Ontiveros, Rudiger Ortiz-Alvarez, Jose A. Capitan, Albert Barberan, David Alonso, Emilio O. Casamayor
Summary: A fundamental question in biology is why certain species tend to coexist in the same locations, while others do not. This question is particularly relevant for microorganisms in high mountain lakes, as biotic interactions might be crucial for survival in extreme environments. Through cooccurrence network analysis, this study identified and quantified potential biotic interactions among microbial communities in alpine lakes, shedding light on the importance of environmental variables and spatial distribution. The findings suggest that the interacting microbial assemblages are influenced by habitat sources and functional strategies, and that bacterial guilds may be more related to habitat and microdispersal processes, while trophic roles could play a major role in microeukaryotes. The study provides valuable insights for understanding microbial interactions in situ.
Article
Ecology
Mateu Menendez-Serra, Vicente J. Ontiveros, Albert Barberan, Emilio O. Casamayor
Summary: Increasing saline stress in ephemeral saline lakes reduces microbial co-exclusions while co-occurrences remain stable, suggesting a decrease in competition and lack of stress-gradient promoted facilitation in the microbiome.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Mateu Menendez-Serra, Vicente J. Ontiveros, Joan Caliz, David Alonso, Emilio O. Casamayor
Summary: This study examines the assembly processes of bacterial and microeukaryotic communities along a salinity gradient and reveals that increasing salinity leads to a dominant role of selection over dispersal, resulting in decreased community turnover. The richness of microeukaryotes decreases with increasing salinity, suggesting that the net effect of selection and dispersal is determined by environmental conditions and microbial ecologies.
Article
Ecology
Julie Teresa Shapiro, Alvah Zorea, Aya Brown Kav, Vicente J. J. Ontiveros, Itzhak Mizrahi, Shai Pilosof
Summary: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a significant threat to public health. Plasmids, which carry AMR genes, play a crucial role in their spread and mobility across hosts. However, the dynamics of plasmid genetic exchange across animal hosts remain poorly understood. In this study, we used network and disease ecology theories and methodologies to investigate the potential transmission of genes between plasmids in a dairy cow population. Our findings shed light on how genes, including those responsible for AMR, spread among animal hosts.
Article
Ecology
Lucie Kuczynski, Vicente J. Ontiveros, Helmut Hillebrand
Summary: The discrepancy between global loss and local constant species richness has sparked debates over data quality, monitoring biases, and the effectiveness of species richness in capturing biodiversity changes. By analyzing fish and bird time series, the study reveals an overall increase in richness due to a bias towards earlier colonizations detected compared to extinctions. Simulation shows that this bias significantly influences richness trends, emphasizing the need to incorporate appropriate neutral baselines in temporal analyses of richness changes.
NATURE ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Sajjad Saeb, Jose A. Capitan, Alfonso Cobo
Summary: The steel industry produces a large amount of hazardous waste called electric arc furnace dust (EAFD). This waste material can be used as an admixture in concrete, improving its characteristics and benefiting the circular economy. In this study, samples from 11 different sources of EAFD were collected and classified into three groups based on their physical and chemical characteristics. The results showed that replacing 2% of the cement with fine EAFD resulted in the best improvements in compressive strength and other tests.
Article
Biology
Vicente J. Ontiveros, Jose A. Capitan, Emilio O. Casamayor, David Alonso
Summary: Fitness equalizing mechanisms, such as trade-offs, play an important role in promoting species coexistence in bacterial communities. Through studying diverse bacterial communities in different systems, it was found that these mechanisms exist and are driven by different subsets of species. Rare taxa are the drivers in aquatic communities, while the core sub-community is the driver in soils. This study suggests that the importance of fitness equalization mechanisms in bacterial communities may have been underestimated.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Infectious Diseases
David Alonso, Xavier Valles
Summary: The study used data from Madagascar to explore the impact of commercial and transactional sex on HIV transmission using a compartmental dynamic model. The model predicts an "S"-shaped prevalence curve with turning points between 2020-2022, and estimates HIV prevalence reaching stabilization between 9% to 24% in 10 out of 11 cities by 2033, similar to high-prevalence regions in Southern Africa.
INFECTIOUS DISEASES OF POVERTY
(2023)
Article
Physics, Fluids & Plasmas
Ignacio Taguas, Jose A. Capitan, Juan C. Nuno
Summary: The introduction of pathogens in plant communities can have serious impacts and biodiversity losses that are challenging to manage and restore. Understanding the mechanisms that hinder pathogen propagation is crucial. This study presents a dynamical model for plant epidemic spreading based on pathogen abundances, which is analyzed mathematically and investigates the effects of network connectivity on infection propagation.