Article
Environmental Sciences
Yeray Santana-Falcon, Roland Seferian
Summary: Temperature plays a crucial role in shaping the biodiversity patterns in the global ocean. Global warming is predicted to alter the thermal range boundaries, particularly at different depths throughout the water column. Research shows that by 2040, if high anthropogenic emissions continue, the ocean depths below 50 meters may be exposed to unprecedented high-temperature environments. However, reduced emissions could delay this scenario by several decades. By 2100, both the lower and upper boundaries of temperature ranges in the ocean may undergo simultaneous changes, which could have significant implications for pelagic ecosystems.
NATURE CLIMATE CHANGE
(2022)
Review
Microbiology
Nastassia Virginia Patin, Kelly D. Goodwin
Summary: The increasing interest in marine microbiome and eDNA sequence data calls for standardized sample collection and preservation practices. This study provides guidelines based on published methods and field sampling experiences, covering environmental considerations, sample processing strategies, sample storage options, and eDNA extraction protocols. While universal recommendations are impossible due to the wide range of eDNA applications, information is provided to design fit-for-purpose protocols. Rigorous decontamination protocols, pilot studies for filtration volume determination, and prioritizing sample freezing are broadly recommended. An annotated list of studies testing these parameters is included.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Brandon Chasco, Brian Burke, Lisa Crozier, Rich Zabel
Summary: Large-scale atmospheric conditions in the Northeast Pacific Ocean affect freshwater and marine environments in specific regions, ultimately impacting the survival rates of migrating species like salmonids. Understanding the correlations between habitats is crucial for predicting and managing the survival of salmon populations in changing environmental conditions.
Article
Fisheries
Erin F. F. Hamilton, Collin L. L. Juurakko, Katja Engel, Josh D. D. Neufeld, John M. M. Casselman, Charles W. W. Greer, Virginia K. K. Walker
Summary: In the region of King William Island, Nunavut, diadromous fish in different seasonal habitats exhibit variations in their skin microbiota composition, indicating the influences of host genome and physiology. The findings challenge the assumption that skin communities mainly reflect water microbiota. These results have important implications for understanding the effect of environmental changes on fish populations in the high Arctic and suggest the use of skin microbiomes as a supplementary tool for monitoring sustainable Indigenous salmonid harvest.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ramona Marasco, Marco Fusi, Cristina Coscolin, Alan Barozzi, David Almendral, Rafael Bargiela, Christina Gohlke Nee Nutschel, Christopher Pfleger, Jonas Dittrich, Holger Gohlke, Ruth Matesanz, Sergio Sanchez-Carrillo, Francesca Mapelli, Tatyana N. Chernikova, Peter N. Golyshin, Manuel Ferrer, Daniele Daffonchio
Summary: Temperature has a significant impact on the adaptation and composition of microbiomes, and their enzymes play a crucial role in the thermal response. This study demonstrates that enzyme thermal properties not only explain microbial thermal plasticity but are also finely tuned by the thermal variability of the environment. The findings highlight the importance of temperature-driven enzyme selection in shaping microbiome thermal plasticity and emphasize the need to consider thermal variability in addition to mean annual temperature in understanding microbial community response to temperature.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Erik Ytreberg, Stefan Astrom, Erik Fridell
Summary: Shipping activities have various impacts on the marine environment, air quality, and human welfare. While the methodology for assessing ship emissions' impact on air quality and human health is well-established, there is a lack of knowledge on the impacts on the marine environment. This study aims to develop a comprehensive framework for evaluating the environmental and socio-economic impacts of shipping.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Tara Hooper, Alona Armstrong, Brigitte Vlaswinkel
Summary: Deployment of floating solar photovoltaic installations in marine environments requires consideration of environmental and societal impacts, which must be researched alongside technical and economic feasibility.
Article
Microbiology
Nerea J. Aalto, Hannah D. Schweitzer, Stina Krsmanovic, Karley Campbell, Hans C. Bernstein
Summary: The study reveals a strong ecological selection process in Arctic marine environments, determining the microbial community structure and richness. These selection processes are not influenced by temperature and salinity, and regional phytoplankton blooms are identified as a major factor affecting bacterial community structure.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
I. Raimundo, R. Silva, L. Meunier, S. M. Valente, A. Lago-Leston, T. Keller-Costa, R. Costa
Summary: This study integrated cultivation-dependent and -independent approaches to uncover the chitin processing potential within marine microbiomes. The results showed differential chitin degradation pathways and utilization across marine micro-niches, as well as potential novel chitinolytic enzymes in the genus Aquimarina with applications in blue biotechnology.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Huayang Lei, Lei Wang, Weidi Zhang, Mingjing Jiang, Yu Bo, Qingfeng Fang
Summary: The geomechanical behavior, mineralogical behavior, and microscopic characteristics of Tianjin marine clay were investigated under acidic conditions in this study. The micro-mechanisms of these phenomena were revealed. Increasing environmental acidity promoted the illitization in illite-smectite and the conversion of part of the smectite component to chlorite. Results showed that the variations in strength and compressibility were phased with the development of a critical pH. A higher environmental acidity increased the strength while decreasing the compressibility, while a lower environmental acidity deteriorated the geotechnical behavior, resulting in decreased strength and increased compressibility.
BULLETIN OF ENGINEERING GEOLOGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Scott Bennett, Julia Santana-Garcon, Nuria Marba, Gabriel Jorda, Andrea Anton, Eugenia T. Apostolaki, Just Cebrian, Nathan R. Geraldi, Dorte Krause-Jensen, Catherine E. Lovelock, Paulina Martinetto, John M. Pandolfi, Carlos M. Duarte
Summary: The study found that the impacts of marine exotic species on local ecosystems mainly occurred within the thermal environments of their original range, with the most significant impacts often occurring in slightly cooler locations than their origin. The impact of exotic species on local abundance displayed a hump-shaped relationship with temperature.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Fusong Han, Chengqun Yu, Gang Fu
Summary: This study examined the effects of non-growing/growing season non-uniform-warming on plant precipitation use efficiency (PUE) and its temporal stability (PUEstability) in alpine areas. The results showed that the GLNG treatment increased PUE by 38.70% and decreased PUEstability by 50.47%, while the GHNG treatment had no effect on PUE and PUEstability. The greater influences on PUE and PUEstability were mainly due to the stronger impacts of GLNG treatment on aboveground biomass, soil moisture, and other factors.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2023)
Review
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Kathryn E. Smith, Michael T. Burrows, Alistair J. Hobday, Alex Sen Gupta, Pippa J. Moore, Mads Thomsen, Thomas Wernberg, Dan A. Smale
Summary: Research shows that marine heatwave events not only significantly impact ecosystem services, but also cause substantial economic losses to human societies. However, biological responses to marine heatwaves can also bring opportunities for interaction with the ocean.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Kelli K. Mullane, Masayoshi Nishiyama, Tatsuo Kurihara, Douglas H. Bartlett
Summary: Approximately three-fourths of pelagic marine prokaryotes live in the deep sea, an environment characterized by high pressure and low temperature. This study examines the impact of deep-sea physical conditions on the motility of three representative marine microbes and finds that pressure and temperature have negative impacts on motility, with low temperature having a greater effect. These findings highlight the sensitivity of motility systems of mesophilic marine bacteria to the combined pressure/temperature conditions in the deep sea.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Abhishek Naik, Mark Smithers, Pia H. Moisander
Summary: Marine biofilms are diverse microbial communities that can resist environmental disturbance, but can also be a nuisance. This study investigates the shifts in bacterial communities and the effects of UV-C treatment on biofilm maturation. The results suggest that UV-C irradiation can effectively remove biomass and slow down maturation, but mature biofilm communities may be more resistant to UV-C treatment.
APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Mohan Bai, Ningdong Xie, Yaodong He, Jiaqian Li, Jackie L. Collier, Dana E. Hunt, Zackary I. Johnson, Nianzhi Jiao, Guangyi Wang
Summary: This study investigates the significance of Labyrinthulomycetes protists (LP) in the biological pump, revealing their potential vertical export to the deep ocean and their niche partitioning in the pelagic ocean. The high diversity of LP communities and their multiple ecotypes suggest that they can be an important component of the biological pump through their various functions in organic matter transport and decomposition.
ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Biochemical Research Methods
Konstantinos T. Konstantinidis, Tomeu Viver, Roth E. Conrad, Stephanus N. Venter, Ramon Rossello-Mora
Summary: Microbial communities in manmade salterns provide an ideal system to study microbial diversity due to their reduced diversity. Recent studies have shown that the dominant bacterial and archaeal taxa in these salterns form persistent populations with sequence-discrete characteristics. Although these populations exhibit extensive gene diversity, only a small number of genes appear to be functionally important during environmental perturbations.
CURRENT OPINION IN BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Roth E. Conrad, Tomeu Viver, Juan F. Gago, Janet K. Hatt, Stephanus N. Venter, Ramon Rossello-Mora, Konstantinos T. Konstantinidis
Summary: Metagenomic surveys have shown that Salinibacter ruber population maintains immense intrapopulation gene diversity with an open pangenome, similar in size to randomly sampled Escherichia coli genomes. While most accessory genes became abundant under changing salinity conditions, the ecological advantage was not strong enough to eliminate diversity within the population.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Blake G. Lindner, Brittany Suttner, Kevin J. Zhu, Roth E. Conrad, Luis M. Rodriguez-R, Janet K. Hatt, Joe Brown, Konstantinos T. Konstantinidis
Summary: Little is known about the genomic diversity of microbial communities associated with raw municipal wastewater. This study used influent from three wastewater treatment plants in Atlanta to examine the impacts of sewage contamination on laboratory freshwater mesocosms. It identified specific microbial populations in sewage and proposed a bioinformatic approach to identify and apportion contamination signal from multiple probable sources using shotgun metagenomic data.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Minjae Kim, Yvonne Kienast, Janet K. Hatt, Amy E. Kirby, Konstantinos T. Konstantinidis
Summary: Urban floodwater poses significant risks to public and environmental health due to the presence of microbial pathogens and overflow of wastewater treatment systems. A study found that floodwater after periods of drought had a 2.5-fold higher abundance of antibiotic resistance genes and virulence factors compared to floodwater after regular rain events. This study also identified previously undescribed species that become mobilized after flooding events, increasing the public health risk.
ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Ningdong Xie, Zhao Wang, Dana E. Hunt, Zackary I. Johnson, Yaodong He, Guangyi Wang
Summary: This study examines the community variation of Labyrinthulomycetes, a marine fungus-like protistan group, in coastal waters. The results show that the abundance and richness of Labyrinthulomycetes decrease significantly from nearshore to offshore waters, while community evenness appears to increase offshore. The community composition of Labyrinthulomycetes is significantly influenced by distance from shore, water temperature, and other environmental factors.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Kevin J. Zhu, Brittany Suttner, Jackie Knee, Drew Capone, Christine L. Moe, Christine E. Stauber, Kostas T. Konstantinidis, Thomas E. Wallach, Amy J. Pickering, Joe Brown
Summary: This study found that the concentration of human mtDNA in fecal samples from individuals with symptomatic norovirus infections was elevated, while there were no significant changes in the concentration of HF183/BacR287. These results suggest that fecal mtDNA may increase during symptomatic norovirus infection and that mtDNA in environmental samples may serve as a human source-tracking marker that correlates with the risk of exposure to enteric pathogens.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Ningdong Xie, Mohan Bai, Lu Liu, Jiaqian Li, Yaodong He, Jackie L. Collier, Dana E. Hunt, Zackary Johnson, Nianzhi Jiao, Guangyi Wang
Summary: This study focused on the abundance, diversity, and community structure of Labyrinthulomycetes in the pelagic Eastern Indian Ocean, revealing distinct vertical distribution patterns and roles of Labyrinthulomycetes in oceanic carbon cycling and sequestration relative to prokaryotic plankton.
MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Jessica L. Gronniger, Zhao Wang, Genevieve R. Brandt, Christopher S. Ward, Despina Tsementzi, Han Mu, Junyao Gu, Zackary I. Johnson, Konstantinos T. Konstantinidis, Dana E. Hunt
Summary: In dynamic coastal oceans, disturbances to microbial communities are not clearly linked to specific environmental factors, but rather result in changes in community composition. Disturbance events may lead to microbial community shifts through increased phage-associated genes, and extreme environmental events may not always fit the definition of disturbance.
ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
David R. Arahal, Hans-Juergen Busse, Carolee T. Bull, Henrik Christensen, Maria Chuvochina, Svetlana N. Dedysh, Pierre-Edouard Fournier, Konstantinos T. Konstantinidis, Charles T. Parker, Ramon Rossello-Mora, Antonio Ventosa, Markus Goeker
Summary: This article presents several opinions regarding the naming of organisms, including the rejection of certain requests, orthographical corrections, and evaluation and clarification of rules. All of these opinions were ratified by the voting members of the International Committee on Systematics of Prokaryotes.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SYSTEMATIC AND EVOLUTIONARY MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Limnology
Patrick Clifton Gray, Anna E. Windle, Julian Dale, Ivan B. Savelyev, Zackary Johnson, Greg M. Silsbe, Gregory D. Larsen, David W. Johnston
Summary: This study provides a method for observing ocean color at fine scales using unmanned aircraft systems, which can complement and enhance traditional ocean observations and modeling, demonstrating its potential value.
LIMNOLOGY AND OCEANOGRAPHY-METHODS
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Brian P. Hedlund, Maria Chuvochina, Philip Hugenholtz, Konstantinos T. Konstantinidis, Alison E. Murray, Marike Palmer, Donovan H. Parks, Alexander J. Probst, Anna-Louise Reysenbach, Luis M. Rodriguez-R, Ramon Rossello-Mora, Iain C. Sutcliffe, Stephanus N. Venter, William B. Whitman
Summary: The SeqCode is a new nomenclature system for prokaryotes that allows naming of organisms based on their genome sequences. It operates similarly to the International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes (ICNP) but uses the SeqCode Registry for registration, validation, and linking of names and metadata. This system provides a reproducible and objective framework for naming prokaryotes regardless of cultivability.
NATURE MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Luis M. Rodriguez-R, Roth E. Conrad, Tomeu Viver, Dorian J. Feistel, Blake G. Lindner, Stephanus N. Venter, Luis H. Orellana, Rudolf Amann, Ramon Rossello-Mora, Konstantinos T. Konstantinidis
Summary: This study reveals the existence of a genetic distance gap between 99.2% and 99.8% in most bacterial species, which can be used to define intra-species units more accurately. These findings have significant implications for future epidemiological and micro-diversity studies.
Article
Oceanography
Charles H. Greene, Celina M. Scott-Buechler, Arjun L. P. Hausner, Zackary I. Johnson, Xin Gen Lei, Mark E. Huntley
Summary: By 2050, society needs to increase food production while reducing its negative impacts on climate, land use, freshwater resources, and biodiversity. Marine algae-based aquaculture could be a viable alternative to carbon emissions-intensive agriculture, providing more protein and offering nutritional and environmental sustainability advantages.