Ecological and Evolutionary Science
Special Issue Perspective | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceAt the Nexus of History, Ecology, and Hydrobiogeochemistry: Improved Predictions across Scales through IntegrationTo improve predictions of ecosystem function in future environments, we need to integrate the ecological and environmental histories experienced by microbial communities with hydrobiogeochemistry across scales. A key issue is whether we can derive generalizable scaling relationships that describe this multiscale integration.
Special Issue Perspective | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceIn Search of Model Ecological Systems for Understanding Specialized MetabolismMicrobes occupy diverse habitats, forming interconnected, dynamic communities. Elucidating the principles of microbial community function is a grand challenge for microbiology, and it will entail experiments that engage microbiomes across multiple levels of complexity.
Special Issue Perspective | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceUsing Cultivated Microbial Communities To Dissect Microbiome Assembly: Challenges, Limitations, and the Path AheadAs troves of microbiome sequencing data provide improved resolution of patterns of microbial diversity, new approaches are needed to understand what controls these patterns. Many microbial ecologists are using cultivated model microbial communities to address this challenge.
Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceluxR Homolog-Linked Biosynthetic Gene Clusters in ProteobacteriaBacteria biosynthesize specialized metabolites with a variety of ecological functions, including defense against other microbes. Genes that code for specialized metabolite biosynthetic enzymes are frequently clustered together. These BGCs are often regulated by a transcription factor encoded within the cluster itself. These pathway-specific regulators respond to a signal or indirectly through other means of environmental sensing. Many...
Special Issue Perspective | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceSeven Billion Microcosms: Evolution within Human MicrobiomesRational microbiome-based therapies may one day treat a wide range of diseases and promote wellness. Yet, we are still limited in our abilities to employ such therapies and to predict which bacterial strains have the potential to stably colonize a person.
Special Issue Perspective | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceUnderstanding Microbiome Stability in a Changing WorldMicrobiomes underpin biogeochemical processes, sustain the bases of food webs, and recycle carbon and nutrients. Thus, microbes are frontline players in determining ecosystem responses to environmental change.
Special Issue Perspective | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceSynergy among Microbiota and Their Hosts: Leveraging the Hawaiian Archipelago and Local Collaborative Networks To Address Pressing Questions in Microbiome Research...Despite increasing acknowledgment that microorganisms underpin the healthy functioning of basically all multicellular life, few cross-disciplinary teams address the diversity and function of microbiota across organisms and ecosystems. Our newly formed consortium of junior faculty spanning fields such as ecology and geoscience to mathematics and molecular biology from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa aims to fill this gap.
Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceSignatures of Selection at Drug Resistance Loci in Mycobacterium tuberculosisMycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of tuberculosis (TB), is a significant burden on global health. Antibiotic treatment imposes strong selective pressure on M. tuberculosis populations. Identifying the mutations that cause drug resistance in...
Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceLinking Nitrogen Load to the Structure and Function of Wetland Soil and Rhizosphere Microbial CommunitiesMicroorganisms living within the rhizospheres of wetland plants significantly contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. Understanding how microbes produce these gases under conditions that have been imposed by human activities (i.e., nitrogen pollution) is important to the development of future management strategies. Our results illustrate that within the rhizosphere of the wetland plant Juncus acutiflorus, physiological...
Editor's Pick Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceTree Leaf Bacterial Community Structure and Diversity Differ along a Gradient of Urban IntensityIn natural forests, tree leaf surfaces host diverse bacterial communities whose structure and composition are primarily driven by host species identity. Tree leaf bacterial diversity has also been shown to influence tree community productivity, a key function of terrestrial ecosystems. However, most urban microbiome studies have focused on the built environment, improving our understanding of indoor microbial communities but leaving...