Uncovering the Metabolic Strategies of the Dormant Microbial Majority: towards Integrative Approaches
A grand challenge in microbiology is to understand how the dormant majority lives. In natural environments, most microorganisms are not growing and instead exist in a spectrum of dormant states.A grand challenge in microbiology is to understand how the dormant majority lives. In natural environments...
Main Authors: | , , |
---|---|
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
American Society for Microbiology
2019-05-01
|
Series: | mSystems |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1128/mSystems.00107-19 |
id |
doaj-a45dc9d7224b49d284cdfe0d877d4cce |
---|---|
record_format |
Article |
spelling |
doaj-a45dc9d7224b49d284cdfe0d877d4cce2020-11-25T01:22:00ZengAmerican Society for MicrobiologymSystems2379-50772019-05-0143e00107-1910.1128/mSystems.00107-19Uncovering the Metabolic Strategies of the Dormant Microbial Majority: towards Integrative ApproachesChris GreeningRhys GrinterEleonora ChiriA grand challenge in microbiology is to understand how the dormant majority lives. In natural environments, most microorganisms are not growing and instead exist in a spectrum of dormant states.A grand challenge in microbiology is to understand how the dormant majority lives. In natural environments, most microorganisms are not growing and instead exist in a spectrum of dormant states. Despite this, most research on microbial metabolism continues to be growth-centric, and many overlook the fact that dormant cells require energy for maintenance. In this perspective, we discuss our research program to uncover the metabolic strategies that support microbial survival. We present two major principles underlying these studies. The first is the recent realization that microbial survival depends on previously unrecognized metabolic flexibility. The second is that new discoveries in this area depend on more sophisticated integration of approaches at the molecular, cellular, and ecosystem levels. These principles are illustrated with examples from the literature, including our own work demonstrating that bacteria can live on air, and areas for future methodological and theoretical development are highlighted.https://doi.org/10.1128/mSystems.00107-19hydrogenmetabolismmycobacteriapersistencesoil microbiologytrace gases |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Chris Greening Rhys Grinter Eleonora Chiri |
spellingShingle |
Chris Greening Rhys Grinter Eleonora Chiri Uncovering the Metabolic Strategies of the Dormant Microbial Majority: towards Integrative Approaches mSystems hydrogen metabolism mycobacteria persistence soil microbiology trace gases |
author_facet |
Chris Greening Rhys Grinter Eleonora Chiri |
author_sort |
Chris Greening |
title |
Uncovering the Metabolic Strategies of the Dormant Microbial Majority: towards Integrative Approaches |
title_short |
Uncovering the Metabolic Strategies of the Dormant Microbial Majority: towards Integrative Approaches |
title_full |
Uncovering the Metabolic Strategies of the Dormant Microbial Majority: towards Integrative Approaches |
title_fullStr |
Uncovering the Metabolic Strategies of the Dormant Microbial Majority: towards Integrative Approaches |
title_full_unstemmed |
Uncovering the Metabolic Strategies of the Dormant Microbial Majority: towards Integrative Approaches |
title_sort |
uncovering the metabolic strategies of the dormant microbial majority: towards integrative approaches |
publisher |
American Society for Microbiology |
series |
mSystems |
issn |
2379-5077 |
publishDate |
2019-05-01 |
description |
A grand challenge in microbiology is to understand how the dormant majority lives. In natural environments, most microorganisms are not growing and instead exist in a spectrum of dormant states.A grand challenge in microbiology is to understand how the dormant majority lives. In natural environments, most microorganisms are not growing and instead exist in a spectrum of dormant states. Despite this, most research on microbial metabolism continues to be growth-centric, and many overlook the fact that dormant cells require energy for maintenance. In this perspective, we discuss our research program to uncover the metabolic strategies that support microbial survival. We present two major principles underlying these studies. The first is the recent realization that microbial survival depends on previously unrecognized metabolic flexibility. The second is that new discoveries in this area depend on more sophisticated integration of approaches at the molecular, cellular, and ecosystem levels. These principles are illustrated with examples from the literature, including our own work demonstrating that bacteria can live on air, and areas for future methodological and theoretical development are highlighted. |
topic |
hydrogen metabolism mycobacteria persistence soil microbiology trace gases |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1128/mSystems.00107-19 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT chrisgreening uncoveringthemetabolicstrategiesofthedormantmicrobialmajoritytowardsintegrativeapproaches AT rhysgrinter uncoveringthemetabolicstrategiesofthedormantmicrobialmajoritytowardsintegrativeapproaches AT eleonorachiri uncoveringthemetabolicstrategiesofthedormantmicrobialmajoritytowardsintegrativeapproaches |
_version_ |
1715788756222476288 |