A metastable equilibrium model for the relative abundances of microbial phyla in a hot spring
Many studies link the compositions of microbial communities to their environments, but the energetics of organism-specific biomass synthesis as a function of geochemical variables has rarely been assessed. We describe a thermodynamic model that integrates geochemical and metagenomic data for biofilm...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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Public Library of Science
2013
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/13079 |
| _version_ | 1848748252976906240 |
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| author | Dick, Jeffrey Shock, E. |
| author_facet | Dick, Jeffrey Shock, E. |
| author_sort | Dick, Jeffrey |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Many studies link the compositions of microbial communities to their environments, but the energetics of organism-specific biomass synthesis as a function of geochemical variables has rarely been assessed. We describe a thermodynamic model that integrates geochemical and metagenomic data for biofilms sampled at five sites along a thermal and chemical gradient in the outflow channel of the hot spring known as ‘‘Bison Pool’’ in Yellowstone National Park. The relative abundances of major phyla in individual communities sampled along the outflow channel are modeled by computing metastable equilibrium among model proteins with amino acid compositions derived from metagenomic sequences. Geochemical conditions are represented by temperature and activities of basis species, including pH and oxidation-reduction potential quantified as the activity of dissolved hydrogen. By adjusting the activity of hydrogen, the model can be tuned to closely approximate the relative abundances of the phyla observed in the community profiles generated from BLAST assignments. The findings reveal an inverse relationship between the energy demand to form the proteins at equal thermodynamic activities and the abundance of phyla in the community.Although the metabolisms used by many members of these communities are driven by chemical disequilibria, the results support the possibility that higher-level patterns of chemotrophic microbial ecosystems are shaped by metastable equilibrium states that depend on both the composition of biomass and the environmental conditions. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T07:02:06Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-13079 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T07:02:06Z |
| publishDate | 2013 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-130792017-09-13T14:58:45Z A metastable equilibrium model for the relative abundances of microbial phyla in a hot spring Dick, Jeffrey Shock, E. Many studies link the compositions of microbial communities to their environments, but the energetics of organism-specific biomass synthesis as a function of geochemical variables has rarely been assessed. We describe a thermodynamic model that integrates geochemical and metagenomic data for biofilms sampled at five sites along a thermal and chemical gradient in the outflow channel of the hot spring known as ‘‘Bison Pool’’ in Yellowstone National Park. The relative abundances of major phyla in individual communities sampled along the outflow channel are modeled by computing metastable equilibrium among model proteins with amino acid compositions derived from metagenomic sequences. Geochemical conditions are represented by temperature and activities of basis species, including pH and oxidation-reduction potential quantified as the activity of dissolved hydrogen. By adjusting the activity of hydrogen, the model can be tuned to closely approximate the relative abundances of the phyla observed in the community profiles generated from BLAST assignments. The findings reveal an inverse relationship between the energy demand to form the proteins at equal thermodynamic activities and the abundance of phyla in the community.Although the metabolisms used by many members of these communities are driven by chemical disequilibria, the results support the possibility that higher-level patterns of chemotrophic microbial ecosystems are shaped by metastable equilibrium states that depend on both the composition of biomass and the environmental conditions. 2013 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/13079 10.1371/journal.pone.0072395 Public Library of Science fulltext |
| spellingShingle | Dick, Jeffrey Shock, E. A metastable equilibrium model for the relative abundances of microbial phyla in a hot spring |
| title | A metastable equilibrium model for the relative abundances of microbial phyla in a hot spring |
| title_full | A metastable equilibrium model for the relative abundances of microbial phyla in a hot spring |
| title_fullStr | A metastable equilibrium model for the relative abundances of microbial phyla in a hot spring |
| title_full_unstemmed | A metastable equilibrium model for the relative abundances of microbial phyla in a hot spring |
| title_short | A metastable equilibrium model for the relative abundances of microbial phyla in a hot spring |
| title_sort | metastable equilibrium model for the relative abundances of microbial phyla in a hot spring |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/13079 |