Testing the light:nutrient hypothesis: Insights into biofilm structure and function using metatranscriptomics

Molecular Ecology
Allison M Veach, Natalie A Griffiths

Abstract

Aquatic biofilms are hotspots of biogeochemical activity due to concentrated microbial biomass (Battin, Kaplan, Newbold, & Hansen, ). However, biofilms are often considered a single entity when their role in biogeochemical transformations is assessed, even though these biofilms harbour functionally diverse microbial communities (Battin, Besemer, Bengtsson, Romani, & Packmann, ; Veach, Stegen, Brown, Dodds, & Jumpponen, ). Often overlooked are the biotic interactions among biofilm components that can affect ecosystem-scale processes such as primary production and nutrient cycling. These interactions are likely to be especially important under resource limitation. Light is a primary resource mediating algal photosynthesis and both phototrophic and heterotrophic production due to bacterial reliance on C-rich algal exudates (Cole, ). However, current understanding of function-structure linkages in streams has yet to unravel the relative degree of these microbial feedbacks under resource availability gradients. In this issue of Molecular Ecology, Bengtsson, Wagner, Schwab, Urich, and Battin () studied stream biofilm responses to light availability to understand its impact across three domains of life. By integrating biogeochemical r...Continue Reading

References

Mar 15, 2016·Nature Reviews. Microbiology·Tom J BattinAaron I Packmann

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Citations

Jan 24, 2019·Molecular Ecology·Loren RiesebergNolan Kane
Jul 31, 2021·The Science of the Total Environment·Kun GuoTenna Riis

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