Biodiversity and biogeography of the atmosphere

Womack, A. M.; Bohannan, Brendan J. M.; Green, Jessica L.

doi:10.1098/rstb.2010.0283

Cited by 276 publications

(261 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…In contrast, never before has a single species driven such profound changes to the habitats, composition and climate of the planet. To deal with the challenges raised by these large-scale and intense modifications of the planet, we need to develop quantitative tools to quantify (Chao et al 2010;Gotelli et al 2010;Magurran & Henderson 2010) and understand (Colwell & Rangel 2010;Dornelas 2010) change; we must document change at multiple scales of space, time and organizational levels (Morris 2010;White et al 2010;Womack et al 2010); and we must develop management tools that take change into account (Mace et al 2010;MacNeil et al 2010).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One of the least studied realms is the air, which Womack et al (2010) argue should be considered a habitat in itself as it supports a rich assemblage of micro-organisms. They make a strong case from drawing on biogeographic and macroecological approaches and using these to identify and interpret patterns of distribution and abundance in these taxa over space and time.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Biological diversity in a changing world

Magurran

Dornelas

2010

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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From the pioneering explorations of Joseph Banks (later a President of the Royal Society), to the present day, a great deal has been learnt about the extent, distribution and stability of biological diversity in the world. We now know that diverse life can be found even in the most inhospitable places. We have also learned that biological diversity changes through time over both large and small temporal scales. These natural changes track environmental conditions, and reflect ecological and evolutionary processes. However, anthropogenic activities, including overexploitation, habitat loss and climate change, are currently causing profound transformations in ecosystems and unprecedented loss of biological diversity. This series of papers considers temporal variation in biological diversity, examines the extent of human-related change relative to underlying natural change and builds on these insights to develop tools and policies to help guide us towards a sustainable future.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biological diversity in a changing world

Magurran

Dornelas

2010

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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“…It has been said that air is 'as alive as soil or water' (Womack et al, 2010). And for good reason: according to current estimates, every square metre of the Earth's surface emits on average 50-220 bacteria s 21 (Burrows et al, 2009b).…”

Section: Bridges In the Skymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Geobacillus paradox: why is a thermophilic bacterial genus so prevalent on a mesophilic planet?

2014

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The genus Geobacillus comprises endospore-forming obligate thermophiles. These bacteria have been isolated from cool soils and even cold ocean sediments in anomalously high numbers, given that the ambient temperatures are significantly below their minimum requirement for growth. Geobacilli are active in environments such as hot plant composts, however, and examination of their genome sequences reveals that they are endowed with a battery of sensors, transporters and enzymes dedicated to hydrolysing plant polysaccharides. Although they appear to be relatively minor members of the plant biomass-degrading microbial community, Geobacillus bacteria have achieved a significant population with a worldwide distribution, probably in large part due to adaptive features of their spores. First, their morphology and resistance properties enable them to be mobilized in the atmosphere and transported long distances. Second, their longevity, which in theory may be extreme, enables them to lie quiescent but viable for long periods of time, accumulating gradually over time to achieve surprisingly high population densities. Introduction: an environmental enigmaGeobacillus bacteria are rod-shaped, aerobic or facultatively anaerobic, endospore-forming microbes. Depending on the strain, the temperature range for growth can extend as low as 35 u C or as high as 80 u C. But for most isolates, temperatures between about 45 and 70 u C are required (Nazina et al., 2001). These characteristics make Geobacillus bacteria (geobacilli) attractive to the biotechnology industry as sources of thermostable enzymes (de Champdoré et al., 2007; Karagüler et al., 2007), as platforms for biofuel production (Cripps et al., 2009;Taylor et al., 2009) and as potential components of bioremediation strategies (Markossian et al., 2000;Obojska et al., 2002;Perfumo et al., 2007). Obligate thermophiles, however, face a significant challenge outside the lab: they must survive on a planet with an average annual land surface temperature that has only ranged between 7 and 10 uC over the past three centuries (Rohde et al., 2013). It would be logical to assume, then, that Geobacillus would only be found in substantial numbers in the warmest regions of the planet, such as equatorial deserts or naturally occurring geothermal and hydrothermal hotspots. The truth, however, is rather more complicated.As Fig. 1 illustrates, people have been able to detect Geobacillus nearly everywhere they have thought to look. (This figure is based on a survey of 146 mostly recent references describing the isolation of Geobacillus in natural or human-made environments; for full details, see Table S1, available in Microbiology Online.) One can see at a glance that these bacteria have been isolated from sources on all seven continents as well as the Pacific Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. What may not be obvious from a twodimensional map is that there has been much diversity in the third dimension as well. Geobacillus has been isolated from the Bolivian Andes at an altitude of 3653 m (Ma...

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“…Bacterial community structures in the air samples were analyzed using pyrosequencing targeting bacterial 16S rRNA genes (16S rDNA). However, pyrosequencing generates short-length sequences that can lead to misreads, allowing us to understand bacterial composition at the class or family level, but not at the species level (Womack et al, 2010). Therefore, the compositions of bacterial species in the air samples were phylogenetically analyzed using the cloning library technique targeting 16S rDNA.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vertical distribution of airborne bacterial communities in an Asian-dust downwind area, Noto Peninsula

Maki

Hara

Kobayashi

et al. 2015

Atmospheric Environment

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Bioaerosols at high altitudes were collected using an aircraft and a balloon.Pyrosequencing using 16S rDNA revealed vertical distributions of airborne bacteria.16S rDNA clone libraries suggested the transport of terrestrial and marine bacteria.Meteorological conditions contribute to vertical variations in airborne bacteria. 3 AbstractBacterial populations transported from ground environments to the atmosphere get dispersed throughout downwind areas and can influence ecosystem dynamics, human health, and climate change. However, the vertical bacterial distribution in the free troposphere was rarely investigated in detail. We collected aerosols at altitudes of 3,000 m, 1,000 m, and 10 m over the Noto Peninsula, Japan, where the westerly winds carry aerosols from continental and marine areas. During the sampling period on March 10, 2012, the air mass at 3,000 m was transported from the Chinese desert region by the westerly winds, and a boundary layer was formed below 2,000 m. Pyrosequencing targeting 16S rRNA genes (16S rDNA) revealed that the bacterial community at 3,000 m was predominantly composed of terrestrial bacteria, such as Bacillus and Actinobacterium species. In contrast, those at 1,000 m and 10 m included marine bacteria belonging to the classes Cyanobacteria and Alphaproteobacteria. The entire 16S rDNA sequences in the clone libraries were identical to those of the terrestrial and marine bacterial species, which originated from the Chinese desert region and the Sea of Japan, respectively. The origins of air masses and meteorological conditions contribute to vertical variations in the bacterial communities in downwind atmosphere.

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Biodiversity and biogeography of the atmosphere

Cited by 276 publications

References 68 publications

Biological diversity in a changing world

Biological diversity in a changing world

The Geobacillus paradox: why is a thermophilic bacterial genus so prevalent on a mesophilic planet?

Vertical distribution of airborne bacterial communities in an Asian-dust downwind area, Noto Peninsula

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