Housekeeping in the Hydrosphere: Microbial Cooking, Cleaning, and Control under Stress
Who’s cooking, who’s cleaning, and who’s got the remote control within the waters blanketing Earth? Anatomically tiny, numerically dominant microbes are the crucial “homemakers” of the watery household. Phytoplankton’s culinary abilities enable them to create food by absorbing sunlight to fix carbon...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-02-01
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| Series: | Life |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/11/2/152 |
| _version_ | 1797396311049240576 |
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| author | Bopaiah Biddanda Deborah Dila Anthony Weinke Jasmine Mancuso Manuel Villar-Argaiz Juan Manuel Medina-Sánchez Juan Manuel González-Olalla Presentación Carrillo |
| author_facet | Bopaiah Biddanda Deborah Dila Anthony Weinke Jasmine Mancuso Manuel Villar-Argaiz Juan Manuel Medina-Sánchez Juan Manuel González-Olalla Presentación Carrillo |
| author_sort | Bopaiah Biddanda |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Who’s cooking, who’s cleaning, and who’s got the remote control within the waters blanketing Earth? Anatomically tiny, numerically dominant microbes are the crucial “homemakers” of the watery household. Phytoplankton’s culinary abilities enable them to create food by absorbing sunlight to fix carbon and release oxygen, making microbial autotrophs top-chefs in the aquatic kitchen. However, they are not the only bioengineers that balance this complex household. Ubiquitous heterotrophic microbes including prokaryotic bacteria and archaea (both “bacteria” henceforth), eukaryotic protists, and viruses, recycle organic matter and make inorganic nutrients available to primary producers. Grazing protists compete with viruses for bacterial biomass, whereas mixotrophic protists produce new organic matter as well as consume microbial biomass. When viruses press remote-control buttons, by modifying host genomes or lysing them, the outcome can reverberate throughout the microbial community and beyond. Despite recognition of the vital role of microbes in biosphere housekeeping, impacts of anthropogenic stressors and climate change on their biodiversity, evolution, and ecological function remain poorly understood. How trillions of the smallest organisms in Earth’s largest ecosystem respond will be hugely consequential. By making the study of ecology personal, the “housekeeping” perspective can provide better insights into changing ecosystem structure and function at all scales. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T00:49:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-57a85e5aadd344769681c0d7c57aa724 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-1729 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T00:49:28Z |
| publishDate | 2021-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Life |
| spelling | doaj.art-57a85e5aadd344769681c0d7c57aa7242023-12-11T17:18:42ZengMDPI AGLife2075-17292021-02-0111215210.3390/life11020152Housekeeping in the Hydrosphere: Microbial Cooking, Cleaning, and Control under StressBopaiah Biddanda0Deborah Dila1Anthony Weinke2Jasmine Mancuso3Manuel Villar-Argaiz4Juan Manuel Medina-Sánchez5Juan Manuel González-Olalla6Presentación Carrillo7Annis Water Resources Institute, Grand Valley State University, Muskegon, MI 49441, USASchool of Freshwater Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI 53204, USAAnnis Water Resources Institute, Grand Valley State University, Muskegon, MI 49441, USAAnnis Water Resources Institute, Grand Valley State University, Muskegon, MI 49441, USADepartamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, 18071 Granada, SpainDepartamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, 18071 Granada, SpainInstituto Universitario de Investigación del Agua, Universidad de Granada, 18071 Granada, SpainInstituto Universitario de Investigación del Agua, Universidad de Granada, 18071 Granada, SpainWho’s cooking, who’s cleaning, and who’s got the remote control within the waters blanketing Earth? Anatomically tiny, numerically dominant microbes are the crucial “homemakers” of the watery household. Phytoplankton’s culinary abilities enable them to create food by absorbing sunlight to fix carbon and release oxygen, making microbial autotrophs top-chefs in the aquatic kitchen. However, they are not the only bioengineers that balance this complex household. Ubiquitous heterotrophic microbes including prokaryotic bacteria and archaea (both “bacteria” henceforth), eukaryotic protists, and viruses, recycle organic matter and make inorganic nutrients available to primary producers. Grazing protists compete with viruses for bacterial biomass, whereas mixotrophic protists produce new organic matter as well as consume microbial biomass. When viruses press remote-control buttons, by modifying host genomes or lysing them, the outcome can reverberate throughout the microbial community and beyond. Despite recognition of the vital role of microbes in biosphere housekeeping, impacts of anthropogenic stressors and climate change on their biodiversity, evolution, and ecological function remain poorly understood. How trillions of the smallest organisms in Earth’s largest ecosystem respond will be hugely consequential. By making the study of ecology personal, the “housekeeping” perspective can provide better insights into changing ecosystem structure and function at all scales.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/11/2/152ecologyecosystem structure and functionaquatic microbesstressor interactionsperturbationsmicrobiome |
| spellingShingle | Bopaiah Biddanda Deborah Dila Anthony Weinke Jasmine Mancuso Manuel Villar-Argaiz Juan Manuel Medina-Sánchez Juan Manuel González-Olalla Presentación Carrillo Housekeeping in the Hydrosphere: Microbial Cooking, Cleaning, and Control under Stress Life ecology ecosystem structure and function aquatic microbes stressor interactions perturbations microbiome |
| title | Housekeeping in the Hydrosphere: Microbial Cooking, Cleaning, and Control under Stress |
| title_full | Housekeeping in the Hydrosphere: Microbial Cooking, Cleaning, and Control under Stress |
| title_fullStr | Housekeeping in the Hydrosphere: Microbial Cooking, Cleaning, and Control under Stress |
| title_full_unstemmed | Housekeeping in the Hydrosphere: Microbial Cooking, Cleaning, and Control under Stress |
| title_short | Housekeeping in the Hydrosphere: Microbial Cooking, Cleaning, and Control under Stress |
| title_sort | housekeeping in the hydrosphere microbial cooking cleaning and control under stress |
| topic | ecology ecosystem structure and function aquatic microbes stressor interactions perturbations microbiome |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/11/2/152 |
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