Journal Articles
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/7915
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Item The Classification and Evolution of Bacterial Cross-Feeding(Frontiers Media S.A., 2019-05-14) Smith NW; Shorten PR; Altermann E; Roy NC; McNabb WC; Harcombe WBacterial feeding has evolved toward specific evolutionary niches and the sources of energy differ between species and strains. Although bacteria fundamentally compete for nutrients, the excreted products from one strain may be the preferred energy source or a source of essential nutrients for another strain. The large variability in feeding preferences between bacterial strains often provides for complex cross-feeding relationships between bacteria, particularly in complex environments such as the human lower gut, which impacts on the host's digestion and nutrition. Although a large amount of information is available on cross-feeding between bacterial strains, it is important to consider the evolution of cross-feeding. Adaptation to environmental stimuli is a continuous process, thus understanding the evolution of microbial cross-feeding interactions allows us to determine the resilience of microbial populations to changes to this environment, such as changes in nutrient supply, and how new interactions might emerge in the future. In this review, we provide a framework of terminology dividing bacterial cross-feeding into four forms that can be used for the classification and analysis of cross-feeding dynamics. Under the proposed framework, we discuss the evolutionary origins for the four forms of cross-feeding and factors such as spatial structure that influence their emergence and subsequent persistence. This review draws from both the theoretical and experimental evolutionary literature to provide a cross-disciplinary perspective on the evolution of different types of cross-feeding.Item The classification and evolution of bacterial cross-feeding(Frontiers Media S.A., 2019-01-01) Smith NW; Shorten PR; Altermann E; Roy NC; McNabb WC; Harcombe WBacterial feeding has evolved toward specific evolutionary niches and the sources of energy differ between species and strains. Although bacteria fundamentally compete for nutrients, the excreted products from one strain may be the preferred energy source or a source of essential nutrients for another strain. The large variability in feeding preferences between bacterial strains often provides for complex cross-feeding relationships between bacteria, particularly in complex environments such as the human lower gut, which impacts on the host's digestion and nutrition. Although a large amount of information is available on cross-feeding between bacterial strains, it is important to consider the evolution of cross-feeding. Adaptation to environmental stimuli is a continuous process, thus understanding the evolution of microbial cross-feeding interactions allows us to determine the resilience of microbial populations to changes to this environment, such as changes in nutrient supply, and how new interactions might emerge in the future. In this review, we provide a framework of terminology dividing bacterial cross-feeding into four forms that can be used for the classification and analysis of cross-feeding dynamics. Under the proposed framework, we discuss the evolutionary origins for the four forms of cross-feeding and factors such as spatial structure that influence their emergence and subsequent persistence. This review draws from both the theoretical and experimental evolutionary literature to provide a cross-disciplinary perspective on the evolution of different types of cross-feeding.Item Hydrogen cross-feeders of the human gastrointestinal tract.(Taylor & Francis Group, 2019-01-01) Smith NW; Shorten PR; Altermann EH; Roy NC; McNabb WCHydrogen plays a key role in many microbial metabolic pathways in the human gastrointestinal tract (GIT) that have an impact on human nutrition, health and wellbeing. Hydrogen is produced by many members of the GIT microbiota, and may be subsequently utilized by cross-feeding microbes for growth and in the production of larger molecules. Hydrogenotrophic microbes fall into three functional groups: sulfate-reducing bacteria, methanogenic archaea and acetogenic bacteria, which can convert hydrogen into hydrogen sulfide, methane and acetate, respectively. Despite different energy yields per molecule of hydrogen used between the functional groups, all three can coexist in the human GIT. The factors affecting the numerical balance of hydrogenotrophs in the GIT remain unconfirmed. There is increasing evidence linking both hydrogen sulfide and methane to GIT diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome, and strategies for the mitigation of such health problems through targeting of hydrogenotrophs constitute an important field for further investigation.