Synthesizing traditional biogeography with microbial ecology: the importance of dormancy

Locey, Kenneth J

doi:10.1111/j.1365-2699.2010.02357.x

Cited by 52 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Both theories have gained support from empirical studies [17], [29]–[34]. And thus, the synthesis of biogeographical theory with microbial ecology should be developed [35].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological Drivers of Biogeographic Patterns of Soil Archaeal Community

Zheng

Hughes

et al. 2013

PLoS ONE

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Knowledge about the biogeography of organisms has long been a focus in ecological research, including the mechanisms that generate and maintain diversity. In this study, we targeted a microbial group relatively underrepresented in the microbial biogeographic literature, the soil Archaea. We surveyed the archaeal abundance and community composition using real-time quantitative PCR and T-RFLP approaches for 105 soil samples from 2 habitat types to identify the archaeal distribution patterns and factors driving these patterns. Results showed that the soil archaeal community was affected by spatial and environmental variables, and 79% and 51% of the community variation was explained in the non-flooded soil (NS) and flooded soil (FS) habitat, respectively, showing its possible biogeographic distribution. The diversity patterns of soil Archaea across the landscape were influenced by a combination of stochastic and deterministic processes. The contribution from neutral processes was higher than that from deterministic processes associated with environmental variables. The variables pH, sample depth and longitude played key roles in determining the archaeal distribution in the NS habitat, while sampling depth, longitude and NH4 +-N were most important in the FS habitat. Overall, there might be similar ecological drivers in the soil archaeal community as in macroorganism communities.

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“…Both theories have gained support from empirical studies [17], [29]–[34]. And thus, the synthesis of biogeographical theory with microbial ecology should be developed [35].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological Drivers of Biogeographic Patterns of Soil Archaeal Community

Zheng

Hughes

et al. 2013

PLoS ONE

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“…It is intended that this framework represents a gradient (or depth) of dormancy across the microbial community (Lennon & Jones, 2011;Locey, 2010;Stolpovsky, Martinez-Lavanchy, Heipieper, Van Cappellen, & Thullner, 2011). It is intended that this framework represents a gradient (or depth) of dormancy across the microbial community (Lennon & Jones, 2011;Locey, 2010;Stolpovsky, Martinez-Lavanchy, Heipieper, Van Cappellen, & Thullner, 2011).…”

Section: Microbial Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Survival of the fewest: Microbial dormancy and maintenance in marine sediments through deep time

2018

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Microorganisms buried in marine sediments are known to endure starvation over geologic timescales. However, the mechanisms of how these microorganisms cope with prolonged energy limitation is unknown and therefore yet to be captured in a quantitative framework. Here, we present a novel mathematical model that considers (a) the physiological transitions between the active and dormant states of microorganisms, (b) the varying requirement for maintenance power between these phases, and (c) flexibility in the provenance (i.e., source) of energy from exogenous and endogenous catabolism. The model is applied to sediments underlying the oligotrophic South Pacific Gyre where microorganisms endure ultra‐low fluxes of energy for tens of millions of years. Good fits between model simulations and measurements of cellular carbon and organic carbon concentrations are obtained and are interpreted as follows: (a) the unfavourable microbial habitat in South Pacific Gyre sediments triggers rapid mortality and a transition to dormancy; (b) there is minimal biomass growth, and organic carbon consumption is dominated by catabolism to support maintenance activities rather than new biomass synthesis; (c) the amount of organic carbon that microorganisms consume for maintenance activities is equivalent to approximately 2% of their carbon biomass per year; and (d) microorganisms must rely solely on exogenous rather than endogenous catabolism to persist in South Pacific Gyre sediments over long timescales. This leads us to the conclusion that under oligotrophic conditions, the fitness of an organism is determined by its ability to simply stay alive, rather than to grow. This modelling framework is designed to be flexible for application to other sites and habitats, and thus serves as a new quantitative tool for determining the habitability of and an ultimate limit for life in any environment.

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“…Although this is true of some macrobes as well, the phenomenon is more phylogenetically widespread (i.e., not limited to a specific clade or clades) for microorganisms (22). It has been estimated that less than 10% of a typical microbial community may be active at any one time (23); thus, the dormant component potentially represents a vast reservoir of genetic diversity.…”

Section: How Are Microbes Unique?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, dormancy mechanisms may make organisms more resistant to the environmental stressors (e.g., extremes of temperature, water availability, and UV exposure) encountered during dispersal (22,23). Indeed, examinations of microbial biogeographical patterns provide support for the potential role of microbial life history traits in affecting dispersal.…”

Section: Dispersalmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns and Processes of Microbial Community Assembly

Nemergut

Schmidt

Fukami

et al. 2013

Microbiol Mol Biol Rev

1,462

1,202

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SUMMARY Recent research has expanded our understanding of microbial community assembly. However, the field of community ecology is inaccessible to many microbial ecologists because of inconsistent and often confusing terminology as well as unnecessarily polarizing debates. Thus, we review recent literature on microbial community assembly, using the framework of Vellend (Q. Rev. Biol. 85 :183–206, 2010) in an effort to synthesize and unify these contributions. We begin by discussing patterns in microbial biogeography and then describe four basic processes (diversification, dispersal, selection, and drift) that contribute to community assembly. We also discuss different combinations of these processes and where and when they may be most important for shaping microbial communities. The spatial and temporal scales of microbial community assembly are also discussed in relation to assembly processes. Throughout this review paper, we highlight differences between microbes and macroorganisms and generate hypotheses describing how these differences may be important for community assembly. We end by discussing the implications of microbial assembly processes for ecosystem function and biodiversity.

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Synthesizing traditional biogeography with microbial ecology: the importance of dormancy

Cited by 52 publications

References 41 publications

Ecological Drivers of Biogeographic Patterns of Soil Archaeal Community

Ecological Drivers of Biogeographic Patterns of Soil Archaeal Community

Survival of the fewest: Microbial dormancy and maintenance in marine sediments through deep time

Patterns and Processes of Microbial Community Assembly

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