Review
Microbiology
Ryan K. Fritts, Alexandra L. McCully, James B. McKinlay
Summary: The transfer of nutrients between cells, known as cross-feeding, is a crucial aspect of microbial communities that impacts health and global biogeochemical cycles. Externalized molecules play a diverse role in promoting cross-feeding relationships, which can be characterized by a mix of cooperation and competition. The interplay between microbial physiology, environmental factors, and extracellular molecules shape the dynamics of cross-feeding interactions.
MICROBIOLOGY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Gabriele Micali, Alyson M. Hockenberry, Alma Dal Co, Martin Ackermann, Dianne Newman
Summary: Microbial communities are essential for life on Earth, but their metabolic dependencies can be detrimental when external conditions change rapidly. We found that the spatial arrangement of a microbial community plays a crucial role in maintaining metabolic interactions and growth after an environmental shift.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)
Review
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jianfeng Du, Yang Li, Saif-Ur-Rehman, Irum Mukhtar, Ziyi Yin, Hansong Dong, Hongfeng Wang, Xiaoying Zhang, Zheng Gao, Xiangyu Zhao, Xiufang Xin, Xinhua Ding
Summary: This review discusses the advantages and limitations of using microbial preparations to manage soil-borne diseases, and proposes an innovative synthetic microbial community assembly strategy. This approach aims to promote healthy plant growth, enhance plant disease resistance, and lay the theoretical foundation for the development of new microbial preparations.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Behzad D. Karkaria, Alex J. H. Fedorec, Chris P. Barnes
Summary: In naturally occurring microbial systems, there is a positive relationship between species diversity and community productivity; researchers performed model selection to discover potential amensal interactions that lead to robust stable synthetic microbial consortia.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Carlos Manchon, Fernando Muniesa-Merino, Maria Llorente, Abraham Esteve-Nunez
Summary: Purple phototrophic bacteria are important in biogeochemical cycles as they play a key role in chemolithotrophic carbon fixation. They can use insoluble electron donors such as ferrous minerals and carbon-based electrodes. This study demonstrates biomass production dominated by purple phototrophic bacteria using a cathode as the electron donor. Analysis of microbial communities reveals different metabolic interactions depending on the electron donor, with Rhodopseudomonas identified as the key genus in extracellular electron uptake.
MICROBIAL BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Biochemical Research Methods
Razieh Rafieenia, Eliza Atkinson, Rodrigo Ledesma-Amaro
Summary: This article reviews the importance of division of labor in natural microbial consortia and how it can be used to design synthetic consortia for efficient substrate utilization and bioproduction.
CURRENT OPINION IN BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Chae Won Kang, Hyun Gyu Lim, Jaehyuk Won, Sanghak Cha, Giyoung Shin, Jae-Seong Yang, Jaeyoung Sung, Gyoo Yeol Jung
Summary: In this study, the authors developed a synthetic adaptation strategy to improve the production of a microbial consortium. By introducing a genetic circuit in one of the strains, they were able to control the production of a specific compound and acclimate the consortium for higher production.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Review
Ecology
Jeremy M. Chacon, Sarah P. Hammarlund, Jonathan N. V. Martinson, Leno B. Smith, William R. Harcombe
Summary: Mutually beneficial interspecific interactions, including those between microbes, play a critical role in human health and global nutrient cycling. Studying model microbial mutualisms in laboratory settings allows for controlled experiments to develop and test evolutionary and ecological hypotheses. This research provides insights into the evolutionary origins, dynamics, and ecological features of microbial mutualism, while also highlighting gaps in understanding and open questions for future study.
ANNUAL REVIEW OF ECOLOGY, EVOLUTION, AND SYSTEMATICS, VOL 52, 2021
(2021)
Review
Microbiology
Hulya Akdemir, Yuxin Liu, Lei Zhuang, Haoran Zhang, Mattheos A. G. Koffas
Summary: Utilization of microbial cocultures on mixed substrates provides new opportunities for controlling biosynthesis behavior and producing complex end products efficiently, advancing metabolic engineering in recent years.
CURRENT OPINION IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Behzad D. Karkaria, Angelika Manhart, Alex J. H. Fedorec, Chris P. Barnes
Summary: This study developed a methodology to explore the potential for chaotic dynamics in small microbial communities and showed that chaotic states can exist in synthetic microbial systems. This has important implications for the fields of biotechnology, bioprocessing, and synthetic biology.
PLOS COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Carlos Manchon, Fernando Muniesa-Merino, Daniel Serna, Yeray Asensio, Colin Wardman, Abraham Esteve-Nunez
Summary: Wastewater biorefineries aim to generate value-added products while removing pollutants. Purple phototrophic bacteria (PPB) are effective microorganisms for sustainable wastewater treatment and nutrient recovery. By utilizing the ability of PPB to exchange electrons with electroconductive materials, wastewater electrobioremediation capacity can be enhanced.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Erin E. Kelly, Alexandria M. Fischer, Cynthia H. Collins
Summary: Synthetic microbial communities can benefit from cross-feeding interactions to promote growth and stability, as demonstrated by experiments on different culture conditions.
BIOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOENGINEERING
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Jessica A. Lee, Alyssa C. Baugh, Nicholas J. Shevalier, Brandi Strand, Sergey Stolyar, Christopher J. Marx
Summary: The research team developed a model microbial consortium for studying lignocellulose degradation with the specific goal of reducing formaldehyde production, by including various bacteria to simulate ecological dynamics and metabolite exchange. Experimental results suggest that this study lays the foundation for future eco-evolutionary research and optimization of biomass transformation efficiency.
Article
Microbiology
Eva Garcia-Lopez, Fatima Ruiz-Blas, Silvia Sanchez-Casanova, Sonia Pena Perez, Maria Luisa Martin-Cerezo, Cristina Cid
Summary: This study examines the microbial diversity and characteristics of bacterial communities in volcanic glaciers in Deception Island, Antarctica, and the Kamchatka peninsula. Various glacier environmental factors were considered, and a comparative analysis of the biogeochemical cycles involving these microbiomes was attempted.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
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
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Ryan K. Fritts, Breah LaSarre, Ari M. Stoner, Amanda L. Posto, James B. McKinlay
APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2017)
Article
Microbiology
Breah LaSarre, David T. Kysela, Barry D. Stein, Adrien Ducret, Yves V. Brun, James B. McKinlay
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Alexandra L. McCully, Megan G. Behringer, Jennifer R. Gliessman, Evgeny V. Pilipenko, Jeffrey L. Mazny, Michael Lynch, D. Allan Drummond, James B. McKinlay
APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2018)
Article
Microbiology
Heidi S. Schindel, Jonathan A. Karty, James B. McKinlay, Carl E. Bauer
JOURNAL OF BACTERIOLOGY
(2019)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Sara E. Jones-Burrage, Timothy A. Kremer, James B. McKinley
APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2019)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Alekhya Govindaraju, James B. McKinlay, Breah LaSarre
APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2019)
Article
Microbiology
Alexandra L. McCully, Maureen C. Onyeziri, Breah LaSarre, Jennifer R. Gliessman, James B. McKinlay
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Breah LaSarre, Adam M. Deutschbauer, Crystal E. Love, James B. McKinlay
APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Ecology
Ryan K. Fritts, Jordan T. Bird, Megan G. Behringer, Anna Lipzen, Joel Martin, Michael Lynch, James B. McKinlay
Editorial Material
Environmental Sciences
James B. McKinlay
ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY REPORTS
(2021)
Review
Microbiology
Ryan K. Fritts, Alexandra L. McCully, James B. McKinlay
Summary: The transfer of nutrients between cells, known as cross-feeding, is a crucial aspect of microbial communities that impacts health and global biogeochemical cycles. Externalized molecules play a diverse role in promoting cross-feeding relationships, which can be characterized by a mix of cooperation and competition. The interplay between microbial physiology, environmental factors, and extracellular molecules shape the dynamics of cross-feeding interactions.
MICROBIOLOGY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Brittany E. E. Mazny, Olivia F. F. Sheff, Breah LaSarre, Anastasia McKinlay, James B. B. McKinlay
Summary: This article presents a new genome sequence for the derivative strain CGA0092 of Rhodopseudomonas palustris CGA009, which is a versatile model purple nonsulfur bacterium used for both fundamental and applied research.
MICROBIOLOGY RESOURCE ANNOUNCEMENTS
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Breah LaSarre, Ryan Morlen, Gina C. Neumann, Caroline S. Harwood, James B. McKinlay
Summary: Partial denitrifiers can still be regulated by denitrification intermediates that they cannot use.
APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Amee A. Sangani, Alexandra L. McCully, Breah LaSarre, James B. McKinlay
FEMS MICROBIOLOGY LETTERS
(2019)
Article
Microbiology
Fredrick J. Lee, Kayla Miller, James B. McKinlay, Irene L. G. Newton
FEMS MICROBIOLOGY ECOLOGY
(2018)