Multiple Metabolic Cooperations

摘要

The toxic liquids that ooze out of old mine workings have been fruitful hunting grounds for microbial ecologists, primarily because the range of organisms that can tolerate such extreme conditions is limited and makes for tractable wild ecosystems to study. Bertin et al. undertook a metagenomic investigation of the microflora in a stream biofilm exiting the former mine of Carnoules in France. They found a community dominated by seven organisms with complementary and apparently intertwined metabolisms. Three strains allied to Thiomonas, Acidithiobacillus, and Gallionella are inorganic nitrogen and carbon dioxide fixers.