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...

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Main Authors: Chris Greening, Rhys Grinter, Eleonora Chiri
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
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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
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