Diversity and metabolic energy in bacteria

Allen, B., Gonzalez-Cabaleiro, R. , Ofiteru, I. D., Øvreås, L., Sloan, W. T. , Swan, D. and Curtis, T. (2023) Diversity and metabolic energy in bacteria. FEMS Microbiology Letters, 370, fnad043. (doi: 10.1093/femsle/fnad043) (PMID:37193662) (PMCID:PMC10214464)

Abstract

Why are some groups of bacteria more diverse than others? We hypothesise that the metabolic energy available to a bacterial functional group (a biogeochemical group or ‘guild’) has a role in such a group's taxonomic diversity. We tested this hypothesis by looking at the metacommunity diversity of functional groups in multiple biomes. We observed a positive correlation between estimates of a functional group's diversity and their metabolic energy yield. Moreover, the slope of that relationship was similar in all biomes. These findings could imply the existence of a universal mechanism controlling the diversity of all functional groups in all biomes in the same way. We consider a variety of possible explanations from the classical (environmental variation) to the ‘non-Darwinian’ (a drift barrier effect). Unfortunately, these explanations are not mutually exclusive, and a deeper understanding of the ultimate cause(s) of bacterial diversity will require us to determine if, and how, the key parameters in population genetics (effective population size, mutation rate and selective gradients) vary between functional groups and with environmental conditions: this is a difficult task.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: We gratefully acknowledge funding from an EPSRC Dream fellowship (EP/J005320/1) and Frontiers Programme (EPK0390831/1; EP/K038885/1) and the BBSRC (BB/R015031/1).
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Gonzalez-Cabaleiro, Dr Rebeca and Sloan, Professor William
• Authors: Allen, B., Gonzalez-Cabaleiro, R., Ofiteru, I. D., Øvreås, L., Sloan, W. T., Swan, D., and Curtis, T.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Infrastructure and Environment
• Journal Name: FEMS Microbiology Letters
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• ISSN: 0378-1097
• ISSN (Online): 1574-6968
• Published Online: 16 May 2023
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2023 The Authors
• First Published: First published in FEMS Microbiology Letters 370:fnad043
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons licence

Project Code	Award No	Project Name	Principal Investigator	Funder's Name	Funder Ref	Lead Dept
190641		Synthetic Biology applications to Water Supply and Remediation	Steven Beaumont	Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)	EP/K038885/1	Research and Innovation Services