Microbiome-metabolite linkages drive greenhouse gas dynamics over a permafrost thaw gradient.

Interactions between microbiomes and metabolites play crucial roles in the environment, yet how these interactions drive greenhouse gas emissions during ecosystem changes remains unclear. Here we analysed microbial and metabolite composition across a permafrost thaw gradient in Stordalen Mire, Sweden, using paired genome-resolved metagenomics and high-resolution Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry guided by principles from community assembly theory to test whether microorganisms and metabolites show concordant responses to changing drivers. Our analysis revealed divergence between the inferred microbial versus metabolite assembly processes, suggesting distinct responses to the same selective pressures.

Prokaryotic-virus-encoded auxiliary metabolic genes throughout the global oceans.

Background: Prokaryotic microbes have impacted marine biogeochemical cycles for billions of years. Viruses also impact these cycles, through lysis, horizontal gene transfer, and encoding and expressing genes that contribute to metabolic reprogramming of prokaryotic cells. While this impact is difficult to quantify in nature, we hypothesized that it can be examined by surveying virus-encoded auxiliary metabolic genes (AMGs) and assessing their ecological context.

Microbial polyphenol metabolism is part of the thawing permafrost carbon cycle.

With rising global temperatures, permafrost carbon stores are vulnerable to microbial degradation. The enzyme latch theory states that polyphenols should accumulate in saturated peatlands due to diminished phenol oxidase activity, inhibiting resident microbes and promoting carbon stabilization. Pairing microbiome and geochemical measurements along a permafrost thaw-induced saturation gradient in Stordalen Mire, a model Arctic peatland, we confirmed a negative relationship between phenol oxidase expression and saturation but failed to support other trends predicted by the enzyme latch.

Long-read powered viral metagenomics in the oligotrophic Sargasso Sea.

Dominant microorganisms of the Sargasso Sea are key drivers of the global carbon cycle. However, associated viruses that shape microbial community structure and function are not well characterised. Here, we combined short and long read sequencing to survey Sargasso Sea phage communities in virus- and cellular fractions at viral maximum (80 m) and mesopelagic (200 m) depths.

Biosynthetic potential of the global ocean microbiome.

Natural microbial communities are phylogenetically and metabolically diverse. In addition to underexplored organismal groups, this diversity encompasses a rich discovery potential for ecologically and biotechnologically relevant enzymes and biochemical compounds. However, studying this diversity to identify genomic pathways for the synthesis of such compounds and assigning them to their respective hosts remains challenging.

Synthesizing Signaling Pathways from Temporal Phosphoproteomic Data.

We present a method for automatically discovering signaling pathways from time-resolved phosphoproteomic data. The Temporal Pathway Synthesizer (TPS) algorithm uses constraint-solving techniques first developed in the context of formal verification to explore paths in an interaction network. It systematically eliminates all candidate structures for a signaling pathway where a protein is activated or inactivated before its upstream regulators.