Are microbes colimited by multiple resources?
Year: 2024
Type: review
Abstract: Resource colimitation - the dependence of growth on multiple resources simultaneously - has become an important topic in microbiology due both to the development of systems approaches to cell physiology and ecology and to the relevance of colimitation to environmental science, biotechnology, and human health. Empirical tests of colimitation in microbes suggest that it may be common in nature. However, recent theoretical and empirical work has demonstrated the need for systematic measurements across resource conditions, in contrast to the factorial supplementation experiments used in most previous studies. The mechanistic causes of colimitation remain unclear in most cases and are an important challenge for future work, but we identify the alignment of resource consumption with the environment, interactions between resources, and biological and environmental heterogeneity as major factors. On the other hand, the consequences of colimitation are widespread for microbial physiology and ecology, especially the prediction and control of microbial growth, motivating continued consideration of this state in microbiology.
Source: Current Opinion in Microbiology
Authors: Noelle A Held, Michael Manhart
Language: English
Subfield: Ecology
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,970
OpenAlex ID: W4400491783