Ecological and Evolutionary Science
Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceDifferential Functional Constraints Cause Strain-Level Endemism in Polynucleobacter PopulationsUnderstanding the biological factors influencing habitat-wide genetic endemism is important for explaining observed biogeographic patterns. Polynucleobacter is a genus of bacteria that seems to have found a way to colonize myriad freshwater ecosystems and by doing so has become one of the most abundant bacteria in these environments. We sequenced metagenomes from locations across the Chicago River system and assembled ...
Editor's Pick Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceDiversity and Activity of Communities Inhabiting Plastic Debris in the North Pacific GyreMarine plastic debris is a growing concern that has captured the general public’s attention. While the negative impacts of plastic debris on oceanic macrobiota, including mammals and birds, are well documented, little is known about its influence on smaller marine residents, including microbes that have key roles in ocean biogeochemistry. Our work provides a new perspective on microbial communities inhabiting microplastics that includes...
Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceOpen-Source Sequence Clustering Methods Improve the State Of the ArtMassive collections of next-generation sequencing data call for fast, accurate, and easily accessible bioinformatics algorithms to perform sequence clustering. A comprehensive benchmark is presented, including open-source tools and the popular USEARCH suite. Simulated, mock, and environmental communities were used to analyze sensitivity, selectivity, species diversity (alpha and beta), and taxonomic composition. The results demonstrate...
Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceClades of Photosynthetic Bacteria Belonging to the Genus Rhodopseudomonas Show Marked Diversity in Light-Harvesting Antenna Complex Gene Composition and ExpressionRhodopseudomonas palustris is a phototrophic purple nonsulfur bacterium that adapts its photosystem to allow growth at a range of light intensities. It does this by adjusting the amount and composition of peripheral light-harvesting (LH) antenna complexes that it synthesizes. Rhodopseudomonas strains are notable for containing numerous sets of light-...