MBL Micro-Eco Discussion Group, Autumn 2008
11 Sept Zoe Cardon - Intro and brief discussion of:
Falkowski PG, Fenchel T, and DeLong EF (2008) The microbial engines that drive Earth's biogeochemical cycles. Science 320:1034-1038
Green JL, Bohannan BJM, and Whitaker RJ (2008) Microbial biogeography: from taxonomy to traits. Science 320: 1039-1043
Strom SL (2008) Microbial ecology of ocean biogeochemistry: a community perspective. Science 320: 1043-1045
Raes J and Bork P (2008) Molecular eco-systems biology: towards an understanding of community function. Nature Reviews Microbiology 6:693-699
18 Sept Julie Huber - In-depth discussion of:
Falkowski PG, Fenchel T, and DeLong EF (2008) The microbial engines that drive Earth's biogeochemical cycles. Science 320:1034-1038
Green JL, Bohannan BJM, and Whitaker RJ (2008) Microbial biogeography: from taxonomy to traits. Science 320: 1039-1043
Strom SL (2008) Microbial ecology of ocean biogeochemistry: a community perspective. Science 320: 1043-1045
25 Sept Linda Amaral-Zettler - In-depth discussion of:
Raes J and Bork P (2008) Molecular eco-systems biology: towards an understanding of community function. Nature Reviews Microbiology 6:693-699
2 Oct John Hobbie - amino acid uptake as a focal process around which to start a discussion of process controls, coupling with gene expression, and differences in aquatic vs. terrestrial ecosystems.
Information and a paper to read (pdf format)
Hobbie, J.E. and Wright, R.T. (1965) Competition between planktonic bacteria and algae for organic solutes. Proceedings of the I.B.P. symposium on Primary Productivity in Aquatic Environments, Pallanza, Italy. (pdf format)
9 Oct Joe Vallino - Continue some of the "systems" concepts discussed in the first four papers this fall, and consider the question "do microbial communities function at the group level?" Two papers form the basis for discussion. One (Wilson and Wilson, 2008) brings up the taboo subject of group selection, while the other (Fernandez et al., 1999) examines microbial community dynamics and associated function. We will not be critiquing the papers per se, they will just serve as background information.
Fernandez A, Huang SY, Seston S, et al. (1999) How stable is stable? Function versus community composition. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 65(8): 3697-3704
Wilson DS, Wilson EO (2008) Evolution "for the good of the group" American Scientist. 96(5): 380-389 (If you can’t get this paper, please e-mail zcardon@mbl.edu and she will send it to you for the discussion.)
16 Oct - Continuation of Oct. 9 discussion
23 Oct Jim Tang - The potential for a positive feedback loop from increasing CO2, to increasing temperature, to increasing decomposition of organic matter in soils, leading to increasing CO2 emission to the atmosphere .... but does internal adjustment within ecosystems mean that the stimulation of CO2 loss to the atmosphere will be minimized over time?
Melillo JM, Steudler PA, Aber JD, Newkirk K, Lux H, Bowles FP, Catricala C, Magill A, Ahrens T, Morrisseau S (2002) Soil warming and carbon-cycle feedbacks to the climate system. Science 298(5601) : 2173-2176
30 Oct Yuko Hasegawa - FISH, localization of microbes in situ in 3D space, and the link to function
Fike, D.A. et al. (2008) Micron-scale mapping of sulfur cycling across the oxycline of a cyanobacterial mat: a paired nanoSIMS and CARD-FISH approach. ISME JOURNAL Volume: 2 Issue: 7 Pages: 749-759
6 Nov - Continuation of last week's discussion, supplemented with:
Behrens, S., Losekann, T., Pett-Ridge, J., Weber, P.K., Ng, W-O, Stevenson, B.S., Hutcheon, I.D., Relman, D. A.and Spormann, A.M. (2008). Linking Microbial Phylogeny to Metabolic Activity at the SingleCell Level by Using Enhanced Element Labeling-Catalyzed Reporter Deposition Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (EL-FISH) and NanoSIMS. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, May 2008, p. 3143-3150, Vol. 74, No. 10.
13 Nov - Zoe Cardon - Rare biosphere in soils (and description of a project in its infancy sampling ag. and forest soils)
Roesch, L.F.W. et al. (2007) Pyrosequencing enumerates and contrasts soil microbial diversity. The ISME Journal 1: 283-290.
20 Nov - Anne Giblin - What is the balance of archaea and bacteria carrying out ammonia oxidation?
Prosser JI, Nicol GW (2008) Relative contributions of archaea and bacteria to aerobic ammonia oxidation in the environment. Environmental Microbiology 10:2931-2941.
27 Nov - Happy Thanksgiving!
4 Dec - Visit to SIMS facility at WHOI
11 Dec ___
