{"title":"Shedding light on spatial structure and dynamics in phototrophic biofilms","authors":"Freddy Bunbury, Amanda N. Shelton, Devaki Bhaya","doi":"10.1016/j.coisb.2023.100480","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p><span>Microbial phototrophic communities dominated early Earth and thrive to this day, particularly in extreme environments. We focus on the impact of diel oscillations on phototrophic biofilms, especially in hot springs, where oxygenic phototrophs are keystone species that use light energy to fix carbon and often nitrogen. They exhibit photo-motility and stratification, and alter the physicochemical environment by driving O</span><sub>2</sub>, CO<sub>2,</sub><span> and pH oscillations. Omics analyses reveal extensive genomic and functional diversity in biofilms, but linking this to a predictive understanding of their structure and dynamics remains challenging. This can be addressed by better spatiotemporal resolution of microbial interactions, improved tools for building and manipulating synthetic communities, and integration of empirical and theoretical approaches.</span></p></div>","PeriodicalId":37400,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Systems Biology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.4000,"publicationDate":"2023-10-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Current Opinion in Systems Biology","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2452310023000379","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Microbial phototrophic communities dominated early Earth and thrive to this day, particularly in extreme environments. We focus on the impact of diel oscillations on phototrophic biofilms, especially in hot springs, where oxygenic phototrophs are keystone species that use light energy to fix carbon and often nitrogen. They exhibit photo-motility and stratification, and alter the physicochemical environment by driving O2, CO2, and pH oscillations. Omics analyses reveal extensive genomic and functional diversity in biofilms, but linking this to a predictive understanding of their structure and dynamics remains challenging. This can be addressed by better spatiotemporal resolution of microbial interactions, improved tools for building and manipulating synthetic communities, and integration of empirical and theoretical approaches.
期刊介绍:
Current Opinion in Systems Biology is a new systematic review journal that aims to provide specialists with a unique and educational platform to keep up-to-date with the expanding volume of information published in the field of Systems Biology. It publishes polished, concise and timely systematic reviews and opinion articles. In addition to describing recent trends, the authors are encouraged to give their subjective opinion on the topics discussed. As this is such a broad discipline, we have determined themed sections each of which is reviewed once a year. The following areas will be covered by Current Opinion in Systems Biology: -Genomics and Epigenomics -Gene Regulation -Metabolic Networks -Cancer and Systemic Diseases -Mathematical Modelling -Big Data Acquisition and Analysis -Systems Pharmacology and Physiology -Synthetic Biology -Stem Cells, Development, and Differentiation -Systems Biology of Mold Organisms -Systems Immunology and Host-Pathogen Interaction -Systems Ecology and Evolution