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Phylogenetically conserved resource partitioning in the coastal microbial loop.

ABSTRACT: Resource availability influences marine microbial community structure, suggesting that population-specific resource partitioning defines discrete niches. Identifying how resources are partitioned among populations, thereby characterizing functional guilds within the communities, remains a challenge for microbial ecologists. We used proteomic stable isotope probing (SIP) and NanoSIMS analysis of phylogenetic microarrays (Chip-SIP) along with 16S rRNA gene amplicon and metagenomic sequencing to characterize the assimilation of six 13C-labeled common metabolic substrates and changes in the microbial community structure within surface water collected from Monterey Bay, CA. Both sequencing approaches indicated distinct substrate-specific community shifts. However, observed changes in relative abundance for individual populations did not correlate well with directly measured substrate assimilation. The complementary SIP techniques identified assimilation of all six substrates by diverse taxa, but also revealed differential assimilation of substrates into protein and ribonucleotide biomass between taxa. Substrate assimilation trends indicated significantly conserved resource partitioning among populations within the Flavobacteriia, Alphaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria classes, suggesting that functional guilds within marine microbial communities are phylogenetically cohesive. However, populations within these classes exhibited heterogeneity in biosynthetic activity, which distinguished high-activity copiotrophs from low-activity oligotrophs. These results indicate distinct growth responses between populations that is not apparent by genome sequencing alone.

SUBMITTER: Bryson S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5702734 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Phylogenetically conserved resource partitioning in the coastal microbial loop.

Bryson Samuel S Li Zhou Z Chavez Francisco F Weber Peter K PK Pett-Ridge Jennifer J Hettich Robert L RL Pan Chongle C Mayali Xavier X Mueller Ryan S RS

The ISME journal 20170811 12

Resource availability influences marine microbial community structure, suggesting that population-specific resource partitioning defines discrete niches. Identifying how resources are partitioned among populations, thereby characterizing functional guilds within the communities, remains a challenge for microbial ecologists. We used proteomic stable isotope probing (SIP) and NanoSIMS analysis of phylogenetic microarrays (Chip-SIP) along with 16S rRNA gene amplicon and metagenomic sequencing to ch ...[more]

PMID: 28800138

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Project description:BackgroundThe link between biodiversity and ecosystem processes has firmly been established, but the mechanisms underpinning this relationship are poorly documented. Most studies have focused on terrestrial plant systems where resource use can be difficult to quantify as species rely on a limited number of common resources. Investigating resource use at the bulk level may not always be of sufficient resolution to detect subtle differences in resource use, as species-specific nutritional niches at the biochemical level may also moderate diversity effects on resource use.Methodology/principal findingsHere we use three co-occurring marine benthic echinoderms (Brissopsis lyrifera, Mesothuria intestinalis, Parastichopus tremulus) that feed on the same phytodetrital food source, to determine whether resource partitioning is the principal mechanism underpinning diversity effects on resource use. Specifically we investigate the use of phytodetrital pigments (chlorophylls and carotenoids) because many of these are essential for biological functions, including reproduction. Pigments were identified and quantified using reverse-phase high performance liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and data were analysed using a combination of extended linear regression with generalised least squares (GLS) estimation and standard multivariate techniques. Our analyses reveal no species-specific selectivity for particular algal pigments, confirming that these three species do not partition food resources at the biochemical level. Nevertheless, we demonstrate increased total resource use in diverse treatments as a result of selection effects and the dominance of one species (B. lyrifera).ConclusionOverall, we found no evidence for resource partitioning at the biochemical level, as pigment composition was similar between individuals, which is likely due to plentiful food availability. Reduced intra-specific competition in the species mixture combined with greater adsorption efficiency and differences in feeding behaviour likely explain the dominant use of resources by B. lyrifera.

Project description:BackgroundWe present here the PhIGs database, a phylogenomic resource for sequenced genomes. Although many methods exist for clustering gene families, very few attempt to create truly orthologous clusters sharing descent from a single ancestral gene across a range of evolutionary depths. Although these non-phylogenetic gene family clusters have been used broadly for gene annotation, errors are known to be introduced by the artifactual association of slowly evolving paralogs and lack of annotation for those more rapidly evolving. A full phylogenetic framework is necessary for accurate inference of function and for many studies that address pattern and mechanism of the evolution of the genome. The automated generation of evolutionary gene clusters, creation of gene trees, determination of orthology and paralogy relationships, and the correlation of this information with gene annotations, expression information, and genomic context is an important resource to the scientific community.DiscussionThe PhIGs database currently contains 23 completely sequenced genomes of fungi and metazoans, containing 409,653 genes that have been grouped into 42,645 gene clusters. Each gene cluster is built such that the gene sequence distances are consistent with the known organismal relationships and in so doing, maximizing the likelihood for the clusters to represent truly orthologous genes. The PhIGs website contains tools that allow the study of genes within their phylogenetic framework through keyword searches on annotations, such as GO and InterPro assignments, and sequence similarity searches by BLAST and HMM. In addition to displaying the evolutionary relationships of the genes in each cluster, the website also allows users to view the relative physical positions of homologous genes in specified sets of genomes.SummaryAccurate analyses of genes and genomes can only be done within their full phylogenetic context. The PhIGs database and corresponding website http://phigs.org address this problem for the scientific community. Our goal is to expand the content as more genomes are sequenced and use this framework to incorporate more analyses.

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Phylogenetically conserved resource partitioning in the coastal microbial loop.

Publications

Phylogenetically conserved resource partitioning in the coastal microbial loop.

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