Microbiomes in light of traits: A phylogenetic perspective
Abstract
How does the composition of microbial communities integrate functionally with the wider environment? Martiny et al. review how patterns of microbial species abundances in different environments and disease states can have strong evolutionary signals. Some environmental changes select the survival of organisms with conserved metabolisms requiring complex configurations of proteins and cofactors that have long evolutionary histories, such as methane producers. In contrast, surviving antibiotic exposure may only require a single gene that can be traded promiscuously among many unrelated organisms. So, depending on the key ingredient (whether it is temperature, light, nutrient, or a dose of antibiotic) and the evolutionary history of its complementary metabolism, shifting environmental conditions will have predictable effects at different levels within the microbial tree of life.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Nov 06, 2015
- Source ID
- 10.1126/science.aac9323
Entities
People
- Adam C. Martiny
- Jay T. Lennon
- Jennifer B. H. Martiny
- Stuart E. Jones
Organizations
- Army Research Office
- Indiana University
- National Science Foundation
- Office of Biological and Environmental Research
- University of California
- University of Notre Dame