A Chemical Perspective on Microalgal–Microbial Interactions

Hom, Erik F. Y.; Aiyar, Prasad; Schaeme, Daniel; Mittag, Maria; Sasso, Severin

doi:10.1016/j.tplants.2015.09.004

Cited by 45 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…In many cases, attempts to remove bacteria or fungi from microalgae have failed. Even in cases where such attempts were successful, microbiotadeprived algae usually exhibited poorer growth or aberrant phenotypes compared to the original strains, which indicates that the association between algae and other microorganisms is important for their existence (Hom et al, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of the algal microbiome on industrial production of microalgae

Lian

Wijffels

Smidt

et al. 2018

Microbial Biotechnology

119

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SummaryMicrobes are ubiquitously distributed, and they are also present in algae production systems. The algal microbiome is a pivotal part of the alga holobiont and has a key role in modulating algal populations in nature. However, there is a lack of knowledge on the role of bacteria in artificial systems ranging from laboratory flasks to industrial ponds. Coexisting microorganisms, and predominantly bacteria, are often regarded as contaminants in algal research, but recent studies manifested that many algal symbionts not only promote algal growth but also offer advantages in downstream processing. Because of the high expectations for microalgae in a bio‐based economy, better understanding of benefits and risks of algal–microbial associations is important for the algae industry. Reducing production cost may be through applying specific bacteria to enhance algae growth at large scale as well as through preventing the growth of a broad spectrum of algal pathogens. In this review, we highlight the latest studies of algae–microbial interactions and their underlying mechanisms, discuss advantages of large‐scale algal–bacterial cocultivation and extend such knowledge to a broad range of biotechnological applications.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of the algal microbiome on industrial production of microalgae

Lian

Wijffels

Smidt

et al. 2018

Microbial Biotechnology

119

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…The present model may also provide the foundation for a physical description of microbial networks, e.g. consortia for cooperative biosynthesis (Hom et al 2015, Cavaliere et al 2017 or microbial communities in soil, or spatially coupled biofilms (Liu et al 2017). Indeed, as mentioned earlier, at the microbial scale, soil can be approximated as a physical network of growth chambers linked by channels (Pérez-Reche et al 2012).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Mutualism between microbial populations in structured environments: the role of geometry in diffusive exchanges

Fj¹,

Bunbury²,

Bhardwaj³

et al. 2017

Preprint

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The exchange of diffusive metabolites is known to control the spatial patterns formed by microbial populations, as revealed by recent studies in the laboratory. However, the matrices used, such as agarose pads, lack the structured geometry of many natural microbial habitats, including in the soil or on the surfaces of plants or animals. Here we address the important question of how such geometry may control diffusive exchanges and microbial interaction. We model mathematically mutualistic interactions within a minimal unit of structure: two growing reservoirs linked by a diffusive channel through which metabolites are exchanged. The model is applied to study a synthetic mutualism, experimentally parameterised on a model algal-bacterial co-culture. Analytical and numerical solutions of the model predict conditions for the successful establishment of remote mutualisms, and how this depends, often counterintutively, on diffusion geometry. We connect our findings to understanding complex behaviour in synthetic and naturally occurring microbial communities.

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“…It is evident that the presence of bacteria may affect the regulation of algal metabolism, and it will not be possible to quantify this effect until axenic cultures of O. tauri become available. In some cases, microbial communities even acquire the capacity for the biosynthesis of novel metabolites that cannot be produced by the individual microorganisms on their own (cooperative biosynthesis); so far however, only few examples of this phenomenon are known (Hom et al 2015; Kusari et al 2016). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Algae regularly interact with bacteria, and these interactions can influence the productivity of microbial communities (Hom et al 2015; Ramanan et al 2016). A region called the phycosphere, which surrounds an algal cell, contains a gradient of algal metabolites that can affect the growth of other microorganisms (Amin et al 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A region called the phycosphere, which surrounds an algal cell, contains a gradient of algal metabolites that can affect the growth of other microorganisms (Amin et al 2012). Possible explanations for the often observed difficulty to obtain axenic algal cultures are metabolic interconnections or physical contact between the interacting organisms (Abby et al 2014; Hom et al 2015). Despite sustained efforts to remove the bacteria contained in O. tauri laboratory cultures (Abby et al 2014), there are currently no axenic O. tauri cultures available.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Metabolic profiling identifies trehalose as an abundant and diurnally fluctuating metabolite in the microalga Ostreococcus tauri

et al. 2017

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IntroductionThe picoeukaryotic alga Ostreococcus tauri (Chlorophyta) belongs to the widespread group of marine prasinophytes. Despite its ecological importance, little is known about the metabolism of this alga.ObjectivesIn this work, changes in the metabolome were quantified when O. tauri was grown under alternating cycles of 12 h light and 12 h darkness.MethodsAlgal metabolism was analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Using fluorescence-activated cell sorting, the bacteria associated with O. tauri were depleted to below 0.1% of total cells at the time of metabolic profiling.ResultsOf 111 metabolites quantified over light–dark cycles, 20 (18%) showed clear diurnal variations. The strongest fluctuations were found for trehalose. With an intracellular concentration of 1.6 mM in the dark, this disaccharide was six times more abundant at night than during the day. This fluctuation pattern of trehalose may be a consequence of starch degradation or of the synchronized cell cycle. On the other hand, maltose (and also sucrose) was below the detection limit (~10 μM). Accumulation of glycine in the light is in agreement with the presence of a classical glycolate pathway of photorespiration. We also provide evidence for the presence of fatty acid methyl and ethyl esters in O. tauri.ConclusionsThis study shows how the metabolism of O. tauri adapts to day and night and gives new insights into the configuration of the carbon metabolism. In addition, several less common metabolites were identified.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11306-017-1203-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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A Chemical Perspective on Microalgal–Microbial Interactions

Cited by 45 publications

References 19 publications

The effect of the algal microbiome on industrial production of microalgae

The effect of the algal microbiome on industrial production of microalgae

Mutualism between microbial populations in structured environments: the role of geometry in diffusive exchanges

Metabolic profiling identifies trehalose as an abundant and diurnally fluctuating metabolite in the microalga Ostreococcus tauri

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