Microbial Spatial Ecology : Old Dogmas Versus Current Perspectives

Prior to the development of DNA technology and the sequencing of organismal genomes, Charles Darwin suggested that the “tree” of life can be traced back to a single root (Koonin and Wolf, 2012). While Darwin’s theory was primitive, it laid the groundwork for the phylogenetic trees that are currently studied in science classrooms around the world. The three-domain tree, containing Eukarya, Archea, and Bacteria, soon became too simplistic due to the realization that some bacteria possessed the ability to exchange genetic information by horizontal gene transfer (Koonin and Wolf, 2012).

Abstract: Microorganism need to live in ideal conditions so they can grow. This experiment was performed to determine if there was a greater number of microorganisms in Winthrop lake than Winthrop wetlands. We determined this hypothesis because the lake was bigger. We also made the hypothesis that the pH level of the lake was going to be higher than the wetlands. We tested out the hypothesis by going out to Winthrop lake and wetlands and collecting samples of water. Back in the lab, we examined the samples under a microscope and recorded all the organisms we could find on Excel. Also, we tested the pH levels of the

This research paper is a primary research paper because the paper indicates that a study was done by several biologist and scientist on the microbial community in the Rhizosphere. Therefore, all the research, answers, and conclusion they all concluded based on their study was explained throughout this paper based on all the information they gathered. Also, the authors explain the process and methods they used to carry out and conduct this research on the microbial communities. I came down to this conclusion by understanding what they wrote is backed up by evidence by explaining the procedure they carried out to study these microbial communities.

Recent research has suggested the P. marinus may be a key contributor to evolution. Since the organism is incredibly abundant, it also produces an abundant amount of oxygen. Therefore, scientists propose that it has produced much of the oxygen we currently breathe, incited the explosion of early life within our oceans, and fueled the atmosphere’s ancient rise of oxygen. Researchers have also observed that there are differing ecotypes of P. marinus. Each ecotype has a unique hue (bright green, yellow, etc..) that corresponds to its depth. This makes the microbe extremely efficient while photosynthesizing. Additionally, this microbe has the power to regulate CO₂ levels that contribute to global warming, due to its part in the carbon cycle. P. marinus is also a key factor in the ocean’s food webs. It tends to thrive in nutrient-poor regions, making it a valuable food source in the ocean’s web. P. marinus also secretes a variety of peptides that in turn cause other oceanic microbes to secrete an enzyme. This enzyme is responsible for detoxifying reactive oxygen

For example, microbes play a major role in the nitrogen fixation process. If microbes were no longer presence, the amount of usable nitrogen would extremely decrease. With the depletion of nitrogen, plants could not perform photosynthesis. Moreover, the atmospheric oxygen would be also decrease if Prochlorococcus and Synechoccocus, which were oxygen-generating bacteria, were no longer visible. Furthermore, the world waste would be accumulated quickly if Bacteria and Archaea were absent.

13. Who is largely responsible for proposing the endosymbiosis theory? 
A. Schimper, Wallin, Margulis
B. Lyon, Margulis, Schimper
C. Schimper, Wallin, Barr
D. Barr, Lyon, Margulis

The destructive nature of expressing ‘bad ignorance’ can be demonstrated in the clear opposition to the discovery of the microbiome, as exemplified in Ed Yong’s paper, I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life. By definition, the microbiome is the all-inclusive assortment of microbes that altruistically coexist with humanity and the environment. The concept of the microbiome is a result of the profound interest- or shall I dare say the persistent ignorance- of Antony van Leeuwenhoek (Yong 8). Although not a scientist by trade, Van Leeuwenhoek was determined to probe the unknown nature of microbes because of his own infinite desire to explore the enigmatic domain that was evidently the microbiome (Yong 11). Van

The observed micro-organisms of watersample A were different from the micro-organism found in sample B. Sample A contained more micro-organisms with a greater diversity than sample B, which had less organisms and a smaller diversity.

explained that in those mentioned years (2.5 Ga) there were no leafy plants, no animal, no insects. Even though there might have been some bacterial life probably on land. The statement that says, “The study of BIF is of great use for understanding the eartly history of earth” (Bekker et al, 2010; Klien, 2005) shows that most of the bacteria that lived on land were anaerobitic, mobilizing their food

1. Collect a sample of soil from (your school) on October 27th 2011 and collect a sample of pond water from (the name of your lake or pond) on October 27th and record the data

Nutrients are more quickly consumed in these dense communities so there is a fierce competition to gain access to the nutrients. This method allows microbes to get stronger as a community and be able to more efficiently grow and reproduce in the environment. For example, the MV cells arise from a mutation in WT cells. As more MV cells are able to survive and reproduce, their traits of being able to reach nutrients are passed along to the offspring. Eventually, the MV cells will dominate the

In order to determine how changes in spatial scale affected food web structure and ecosystem processes, we sampled each site at four spatial scales within a range of varying lag, i.e. 1 m (n=1), no less than 10 m apart (n=3), no less than 10 m but no more than 100 m apart (n=6) and no less than 100 m apart, but no more than 1000 m apart (n=12), resulting in 22 samples within each site, defined by marked quadrats. By calculating the mean distance (i.e. lag in m) between the samples at each scale, we made lag a continuous variable.

A majority of the diversity of air is misunderstood by ecologist. Yet, the limited amount of research conducted on the diversity of the atmosphere supports that air is highly diverse. Samples taken from the atmosphere were dominated by plant and bacteria related sequences, indicating a highly variable 16sRNA gene diversity (2). When samples are taken from the atmosphere, there is a trend of a

Eukaryotes come in two grades of organization: single-celled (protists) and multicellular (plants, animals, and fungi). The world today is full of complex multicellular plants and animals: how, why, and when did they evolve from protists?

However, while currents are biogeographical barriers, they often facilitate the dispersal of some organisms. The marine environment can be very inhospitable and cross great distances, like an entire ocean, it is impossible for animals and plants that are not / are adapted. In this way, the surface currents are often responsible for genetically connecting populations that have long been isolated by the transport of seeds, larvae, spores and propagules of different groups of organisms (BARBER et al., 2000).