1
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Schniete JK, Fernández-Martínez LT. Natural product discovery in soil actinomycetes: unlocking their potential within an ecological context. Curr Opin Microbiol 2024; 79:102487. [PMID: 38733791 DOI: 10.1016/j.mib.2024.102487] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2023] [Revised: 02/23/2024] [Accepted: 04/25/2024] [Indexed: 05/13/2024]
Abstract
Natural products (NPs) produced by bacteria, particularly soil actinomycetes, often possess diverse bioactivities and play a crucial role in human health, agriculture, and biotechnology. Soil actinomycete genomes contain a vast number of predicted biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) yet to be exploited. Understanding the factors governing NP production in an ecological context and activating cryptic and silent BGCs in soil actinomycetes will provide researchers with a wealth of molecules with potential novel applications. Here, we highlight recent advances in NP discovery strategies employing ecology-inspired approaches and discuss the importance of understanding the environmental signals responsible for activation of NP production, particularly in a soil microbial community context, as well as the challenges that remain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jana K Schniete
- Institute of Microbiology, Leibniz Universität Hannover, 30419 Hannover, Germany.
| | - Lorena T Fernández-Martínez
- School of Infection and Immunity, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8TA, UK.
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2
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Bunyavanich S, Becker PM, Altman MC, Lasky-Su J, Ober C, Zengler K, Berdyshev E, Bonneau R, Chatila T, Chatterjee N, Chung KF, Cutcliffe C, Davidson W, Dong G, Fang G, Fulkerson P, Himes BE, Liang L, Mathias RA, Ogino S, Petrosino J, Price ND, Schadt E, Schofield J, Seibold MA, Steen H, Wheatley L, Zhang H, Togias A, Hasegawa K. Analytical challenges in omics research on asthma and allergy: A National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases workshop. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2024; 153:954-968. [PMID: 38295882 PMCID: PMC10999353 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaci.2024.01.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2023] [Revised: 01/19/2024] [Accepted: 01/24/2024] [Indexed: 02/29/2024]
Abstract
Studies of asthma and allergy are generating increasing volumes of omics data for analysis and interpretation. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) assembled a workshop comprising investigators studying asthma and allergic diseases using omics approaches, omics investigators from outside the field, and NIAID medical and scientific officers to discuss the following areas in asthma and allergy research: genomics, epigenomics, transcriptomics, microbiomics, metabolomics, proteomics, lipidomics, integrative omics, systems biology, and causal inference. Current states of the art, present challenges, novel and emerging strategies, and priorities for progress were presented and discussed for each area. This workshop report summarizes the major points and conclusions from this NIAID workshop. As a group, the investigators underscored the imperatives for rigorous analytic frameworks, integration of different omics data types, cross-disciplinary interaction, strategies for overcoming current limitations, and the overarching goal to improve scientific understanding and care of asthma and allergic diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Patrice M Becker
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, Md
| | | | - Jessica Lasky-Su
- Brigham & Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass
| | | | | | | | | | - Talal Chatila
- Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass
| | | | | | | | - Wendy Davidson
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, Md
| | - Gang Dong
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, Md
| | - Gang Fang
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY
| | - Patricia Fulkerson
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, Md
| | | | - Liming Liang
- Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Mass
| | | | - Shuji Ogino
- Brigham & Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass; Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Mass; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Boston, Mass
| | | | | | - Eric Schadt
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY
| | | | - Max A Seibold
- National Jewish Health, Denver, Colo; University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colo
| | - Hanno Steen
- Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass
| | - Lisa Wheatley
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, Md
| | - Hongmei Zhang
- School of Public Health, University of Memphis, Memphis, Tenn
| | - Alkis Togias
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, Md
| | - Kohei Hasegawa
- Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass
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3
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Parnell JJ, Vintila S, Tang C, Wagner MR, Kleiner M. Evaluation of ready-to-use freezer stocks of a synthetic microbial community for maize root colonization. Microbiol Spectr 2024; 12:e0240123. [PMID: 38084978 PMCID: PMC10783020 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.02401-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2023] [Accepted: 11/06/2023] [Indexed: 01/13/2024] Open
Abstract
IMPORTANCE Synthetic communities (SynComs) are an invaluable tool to characterize and model plant-microbe interactions. Multimember SynComs approximate intricate real-world interactions between plants and their microbiome, but the complexity and time required for their construction increase enormously for each additional member added to the SynCom. Therefore, researchers who study a diversity of microbiomes using SynComs are looking for ways to simplify the use of SynComs. In this manuscript, we evaluate the feasibility of creating ready-to-use freezer stocks of a well-studied seven-member SynCom for maize roots. The frozen ready-to-use SynCom stocks work according to the principle of "just add buffer and apply to sterilized seeds or seedlings" and thus can save time applied in multiple days of laborious growing and combining of multiple microorganisms. We show that ready-to-use SynCom stocks provide comparable results to those of freshly constructed SynComs and thus allow for significant time savings when working with SynComs.
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Affiliation(s)
- J. Jacob Parnell
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
| | - Simina Vintila
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
| | - Clara Tang
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
| | - Maggie R. Wagner
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA
- Kansas Biological Survey & Center for Ecological Research, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA
| | - Manuel Kleiner
- Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
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4
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Jing J, Garbeva P, Raaijmakers JM, Medema MH. Strategies for tailoring functional microbial synthetic communities. THE ISME JOURNAL 2024; 18:wrae049. [PMID: 38537571 PMCID: PMC11008692 DOI: 10.1093/ismejo/wrae049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2024] [Revised: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 04/12/2024]
Abstract
Natural ecosystems harbor a huge reservoir of taxonomically diverse microbes that are important for plant growth and health. The vast diversity of soil microorganisms and their complex interactions make it challenging to pinpoint the main players important for the life support functions microbes can provide to plants, including enhanced tolerance to (a)biotic stress factors. Designing simplified microbial synthetic communities (SynComs) helps reduce this complexity to unravel the molecular and chemical basis and interplay of specific microbiome functions. While SynComs have been successfully employed to dissect microbial interactions or reproduce microbiome-associated phenotypes, the assembly and reconstitution of these communities have often been based on generic abundance patterns or taxonomic identities and co-occurrences but have only rarely been informed by functional traits. Here, we review recent studies on designing functional SynComs to reveal common principles and discuss multidimensional approaches for community design. We propose a strategy for tailoring the design of functional SynComs based on integration of high-throughput experimental assays with microbial strains and computational genomic analyses of their functional capabilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiayi Jing
- Bioinformatics Group, Department of Plant Science, Wageningen University & Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
- Department of Microbial Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Droevendaalsesteeg 10, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Paolina Garbeva
- Department of Microbial Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Droevendaalsesteeg 10, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Jos M Raaijmakers
- Department of Microbial Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Droevendaalsesteeg 10, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Marnix H Medema
- Bioinformatics Group, Department of Plant Science, Wageningen University & Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
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5
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Novak V, Andeer PF, Bowen BP, Ding Y, Zhalnina K, Hofmockel KS, Tomaka C, Harwood TV, van Winden MCM, Golini AN, Kosina SM, Northen TR. Reproducible growth of Brachypodium in EcoFAB 2.0 reveals that nitrogen form and starvation modulate root exudation. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024; 10:eadg7888. [PMID: 38170767 PMCID: PMC10776018 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adg7888] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2023] [Accepted: 11/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
Understanding plant-microbe interactions requires examination of root exudation under nutrient stress using standardized and reproducible experimental systems. We grew Brachypodium distachyon hydroponically in fabricated ecosystem devices (EcoFAB 2.0) under three inorganic nitrogen forms (nitrate, ammonium, and ammonium nitrate), followed by nitrogen starvation. Analyses of exudates with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, biomass, medium pH, and nitrogen uptake showed EcoFAB 2.0's low intratreatment data variability. Furthermore, the three inorganic nitrogen forms caused differential exudation, generalized by abundant amino acids-peptides and alkaloids. Comparatively, nitrogen deficiency decreased nitrogen-containing compounds but increased shikimates-phenylpropanoids. Subsequent bioassays with two shikimates-phenylpropanoids (shikimic and p-coumaric acids) on soil bacteria or Brachypodium seedlings revealed their distinct capacity to regulate both bacterial and plant growth. Our results suggest that (i) Brachypodium alters exudation in response to nitrogen status, which can affect rhizobacterial growth, and (ii) EcoFAB 2.0 is a valuable standardized plant research tool.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vlastimil Novak
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Peter F. Andeer
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Benjamin P. Bowen
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- The DOE Joint Genome Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Yezhang Ding
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Kateryna Zhalnina
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Kirsten S. Hofmockel
- Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA 99354, USA
- Department of Agronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
| | - Connor Tomaka
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Thomas V. Harwood
- The DOE Joint Genome Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | | | - Amber N. Golini
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Suzanne M. Kosina
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Trent R. Northen
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- The DOE Joint Genome Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
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6
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Candry P, Godfrey BJ, Winkler MKH. Microbe-cellulose hydrogels as a model system for particulate carbon degradation in soil aggregates. ISME COMMUNICATIONS 2024; 4:ycae068. [PMID: 38800124 PMCID: PMC11126157 DOI: 10.1093/ismeco/ycae068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2024] [Revised: 04/12/2024] [Accepted: 05/03/2024] [Indexed: 05/29/2024]
Abstract
Particulate carbon (C) degradation in soils is a critical process in the global C cycle governing greenhouse gas fluxes and C storage. Millimeter-scale soil aggregates impose strong controls on particulate C degradation by inducing chemical gradients of e.g. oxygen, as well as limiting microbial mobility in pore structures. To date, experimental models of soil aggregates have incorporated porosity and chemical gradients but not particulate C. Here, we demonstrate a proof-of-concept encapsulating microbial cells and particulate C substrates in hydrogel matrices as a novel experimental model for soil aggregates. Ruminiclostridium cellulolyticum was co-encapsulated with cellulose in millimeter-scale polyethyleneglycol-dimethacrylate (PEGDMA) hydrogel beads. Microbial activity was delayed in hydrogel-encapsulated conditions, with cellulose degradation and fermentation activity being observed after 13 days of incubation. Unexpectedly, hydrogel encapsulation shifted product formation of R. cellulolyticum from an ethanol-lactate-acetate mixture to an acetate-dominated product profile. Fluorescence microscopy enabled simultaneous visualization of the PEGDMA matrix, cellulose particles, and individual cells in the matrix, demonstrating growth on cellulose particles during incubation. Together, these microbe-cellulose-PEGDMA hydrogels present a novel, reproducible experimental soil surrogate to connect single cells to process outcomes at the scale of soil aggregates and ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pieter Candry
- Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Washington, 201 More Hall, Seattle, WA 98195-2700, United States
- Laboratory of Systems and Synthetic Biology, Wageningen University & Research, 6708 WE, Wageningen, The Netherlands
- Laboratory of Systems and Synthetic Biology, Wageningen University & Research, 6708 WE, Wageningen, The Netherlands. E-mail:
| | - Bruce J Godfrey
- Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Washington, 201 More Hall, Seattle, WA 98195-2700, United States
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7
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Kovács ÁT. Plant-microbe interactions: Plant-exuded myo-inositol attracts specific bacterial taxa. Curr Biol 2023; 33:R825-R827. [PMID: 37552953 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.06.066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/10/2023]
Abstract
Plants exude a plethora of metabolites that transform the microbiome composition. Initiated from genome-wide association studies of either a plant or a bacterium, two new studies dissect the impact of plant-secreted myo-inositol on recruitment of certain bacterial taxa by Arabidopsis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ákos T Kovács
- Institute of Biology, Leiden University, 2333 BE Leiden, The Netherlands.
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8
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Lu Y, Fu Y, Chen L, Cui J, Huang M, Fu Y, Liu H. Combined effect of simulated microgravity and low-dose ionizing radiation on structure and antibiotic resistance of a synthetic community model of bacteria isolated from spacecraft assembly room. LIFE SCIENCES IN SPACE RESEARCH 2023; 38:29-38. [PMID: 37481305 DOI: 10.1016/j.lssr.2023.04.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2023] [Revised: 04/05/2023] [Accepted: 04/25/2023] [Indexed: 07/24/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the structural and antibiotic resistance changes of microbial communities in space environments is critical for identifying potential pathogens that may pose health risks to astronauts and for preventing and controlling microbial contamination. The research to date on microbes under simulated space factors has primarily been carried out on single bacterial species under the individual effects of microgravity or low-dose radiation. However, microgravity (MG) and low-dose ionizing radiation (LDIR) coexist in the actual spacecraft environment, and microorganisms coexist as communities in the spacecraft environment. Thus, the microbial response to the real changes present during space habitation has not been adequately explored. To address this knowledge gap, we compared the dynamics of community composition and antibiotic resistance of synthetic bacterial communities under simulated microgravit, low-dose ionizing radiation, and the conditions combined, as it occurs in spacecraft. To ensure representative bacteria were selected, we co-cultured of 12 bacterial strains isolated from spacecraft cleanrooms. We found that the weakened competition between communities increased the possibility of species coexistence, community diversity, and homogeneity. The number of Bacilli increased significantly, while different species under the combined conditions showed various changes in abundance compared to those under the individual conditions. The resistance of the synthetic community to penicillins increased significantly under low doses of ionizing radiation but did not change significantly under simulated microgravity or the combined conditions. The results of functional predictions revealed that antibiotic biosynthesis and resistance increased dramatically in the community under space environmental stress, which confirmed the results of the drug sensitivity assays. Our results show that combined space environmental factors exert different effects on the microbial community structure and antibiotic resistance, which provides new insights into our understanding of the mechanisms of evolution of microorganisms in spacecraft, and is relevant to effective microbial pollution prevention and control strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yueying Lu
- Key Laboratory of Biomechanics and Mechanobiology (Beihang University), Ministry of Education Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, 37 Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100083, China; International Joint Research Center of Aerospace Biotechnology & Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Yifan Fu
- School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China; 4+4 M D. Program, Chinese Academy of Medical Science & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100730, China
| | - Letian Chen
- School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Jingjing Cui
- Key Laboratory of Biomechanics and Mechanobiology (Beihang University), Ministry of Education Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, 37 Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100083, China; International Joint Research Center of Aerospace Biotechnology & Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Min Huang
- School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Yuming Fu
- Key Laboratory of Biomechanics and Mechanobiology (Beihang University), Ministry of Education Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, 37 Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100083, China; International Joint Research Center of Aerospace Biotechnology & Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100083, China; State Key Laboratory of Virtual Reality Technology and Systems, School of Computer Science and Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100083, China.
| | - Hong Liu
- Key Laboratory of Biomechanics and Mechanobiology (Beihang University), Ministry of Education Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, 37 Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100083, China; International Joint Research Center of Aerospace Biotechnology & Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100083, China; State Key Laboratory of Virtual Reality Technology and Systems, School of Computer Science and Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100083, China
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9
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Schäfer M, Pacheco AR, Künzler R, Bortfeld-Miller M, Field CM, Vayena E, Hatzimanikatis V, Vorholt JA. Metabolic interaction models recapitulate leaf microbiota ecology. Science 2023; 381:eadf5121. [PMID: 37410834 DOI: 10.1126/science.adf5121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2022] [Accepted: 05/18/2023] [Indexed: 07/08/2023]
Abstract
Resource allocation affects the structure of microbiomes, including those associated with living hosts. Understanding the degree to which this dependency determines interspecies interactions may advance efforts to control host-microbiome relationships. We combined synthetic community experiments with computational models to predict interaction outcomes between plant-associated bacteria. We mapped the metabolic capabilities of 224 leaf isolates from Arabidopsis thaliana by assessing the growth of each strain on 45 environmentally relevant carbon sources in vitro. We used these data to build curated genome-scale metabolic models for all strains, which we combined to simulate >17,500 interactions. The models recapitulated outcomes observed in planta with >89% accuracy, highlighting the role of carbon utilization and the contributions of niche partitioning and cross-feeding in the assembly of leaf microbiomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Schäfer
- Institute of Microbiology, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Alan R Pacheco
- Institute of Microbiology, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Rahel Künzler
- Institute of Microbiology, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | | | - Evangelia Vayena
- Laboratory of Computational Systems Biotechnology, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Vassily Hatzimanikatis
- Laboratory of Computational Systems Biotechnology, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland
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10
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Moyne O, Al-Bassam M, Lieng C, Thiruppathy D, Norton GJ, Kumar M, Haddad E, Zaramela LS, Zengler K. Guild and Niche Determination Enable Targeted Alteration of the Microbiome. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.05.11.540389. [PMID: 37214910 PMCID: PMC10197622 DOI: 10.1101/2023.05.11.540389] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Microbiome science has greatly contributed to our understanding of microbial life and its essential roles for the environment and human health1-5. However, the nature of microbial interactions and how microbial communities respond to perturbations remains poorly understood, resulting in an often descriptive and correlation-based approach to microbiome research6-8. Achieving causal and predictive microbiome science would require direct functional measurements in complex communities to better understand the metabolic role of each member and its interactions with others. In this study we present a new approach that integrates transcription and translation measurements to predict competition and substrate preferences within microbial communities, consequently enabling the selective manipulation of the microbiome. By performing metatranscriptomic (metaRNA-Seq) and metatranslatomic (metaRibo-Seq) analysis in complex samples, we classified microbes into functional groups (i.e. guilds) and demonstrated that members of the same guild are competitors. Furthermore, we predicted preferred substrates based on importer proteins, which specifically benefited selected microbes in the community (i.e. their niche) and simultaneously impaired their competitors. We demonstrated the scalability of microbial guild and niche determination to natural samples and its ability to successfully manipulate microorganisms in complex microbiomes. Thus, the approach enhances the design of pre- and probiotic interventions to selectively alter members within microbial communities, advances our understanding of microbial interactions, and paves the way for establishing causality in microbiome science.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oriane Moyne
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Mahmoud Al-Bassam
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Chloe Lieng
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Deepan Thiruppathy
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Grant J Norton
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Manish Kumar
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Eli Haddad
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Livia S Zaramela
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Karsten Zengler
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
- Center for Microbiome Innovation, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
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11
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Pacheco AR, Vorholt JA. Resolving metabolic interaction mechanisms in plant microbiomes. Curr Opin Microbiol 2023; 74:102317. [PMID: 37062173 DOI: 10.1016/j.mib.2023.102317] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2022] [Revised: 03/10/2023] [Accepted: 03/16/2023] [Indexed: 04/18/2023]
Abstract
Metabolic interactions are fundamental to the assembly and functioning of microbiomes, including those of plants. However, disentangling the molecular basis of these interactions and their specific roles remains a major challenge. Here, we review recent applications of experimental and computational methods toward the elucidation of metabolic interactions in plant-associated microbiomes. We highlight studies that span various scales of taxonomic and environmental complexity, including those that test interaction outcomes in vitro and in planta by deconstructing microbial communities. We also discuss how the continued integration of multiple methods can further reveal the general ecological characteristics of plant microbiomes, as well as provide strategies for applications in areas such as improved plant protection, bioremediation, and sustainable agriculture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alan R Pacheco
- Institute of Microbiology, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
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