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Quantifying the functional and structural states of dynamic microbial communities


EMSL Project ID
48418

Abstract

The overall goal of this proposal is to provide a quantitative framework in which to compare species-resolved patterns of gene expression, allowing comparison of the effects of perturbations of various types, magnitudes, durations, and periodicities within a unified framework. We further propose to examine whether and how spatial microheterogeneity impacts species function and interspecies interactions. For this work we employ species-richness-constrained unicyanobacterial consortia isolated from the Hot Lake microbial mat to detect whether different community structures and physiological states, species richness being constant, confer increased functional stability in response to environmental perturbation. These studies will provide critical information needed to understand the mechanisms by which the Hot Lake mat is resistant to extreme natural environmental variation and how members with beneficial functions are recruited to the assembling mat community. To accomplish this, we propose to:
A. Use a mathematical approach to provide a global, gene-resolved metric of an organism's regulatory state and species-resolved regulatory state of a mixed community.
B. Determine the impact of changing environmental parameters on the regulatory state of a low-complexity community model system.
C. Examine the spatial heterogeneity of species function within a community biofilm structure to determine how local interspecies interactions influence overall community function.
This work will provide the quantitative framework to compare species-resolved relative abundance and gene regulation patterns in dynamic natural communities across environmental variables and community structures, which is relevant to both the FSFA and the Subsurface Biogeochemical Research SFA. This will, in turn, provide field-testable hypotheses of interspecies interactions contributing to higher-order community properties in the Hot Lake mat in situ. These data may aid in predicting the effect of diversity changes -- specifically, that of species loss -- on ecosystem function and carbon cycling under conditions of global change. It may further elucidate principles relevant to the rational design and management of microbial communities for sustainable performance.

Project Details

Project type
Large-Scale EMSL Research
Start Date
2014-10-01
End Date
2016-09-30
Status
Closed

Team

Principal Investigator

James Fredrickson
Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Co-Investigator(s)

Stephen Lindemann
Institution
Purdue University

Team Members

Christopher Anderton
Institution
Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory

James Stegen
Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

H Wiley
Institution
Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory

Ljiljana Pasa-Tolic
Institution
Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory

Alice Dohnalkova
Institution
Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory

Related Publications

Anderton C.R., J.M. Mobberley, J.K. Cole, J. Nunez, R.F. Starke, A.A. Boaro, and Y. Yesiltepe, et al. 2020. "Nitrogen source governs community carbon metabolism in a model hypersaline benthic phototrophic biofilm." mSystems 5, no. 3:Article No. e00260-20. PNNL-SA-145330. doi:10.1128/mSystems.00260-20
Dunn JR, RS Renslow, JB Cliff, III, and CR Anderton. 2017. "NanoSIMS for Biological Applications: Current Practices and Analyses." Biointerphases 13(3):Article No. 03B301. doi:10.1116/1.4993628
Ha P.T., S.R. Lindemann, L. Shi, A. Dohnalkova, J.K. Fredrickson, M.T. Madigan, and H. Beyenal. 2017. "Syntrophic Anaerobic Photosynthesis via Direct Interspecies Electron Transfer." Nature Communications 8. PNNL-SA-119245. doi:10.1038/ncomms13924
Mobberley JM, SR Lindemann, HC Bernstein, JJ Moran, RS Renslow, JT Babauta, D Hu, H Beyenal, and WC Nelson. 2017. "Organismal and spatial partitioning of energy and macronutrient transformations within a hypersaline mat." FEMS Microbiology Ecology 93(4):Article No. fix028. doi:10.1093/femsec/fix028