Environmental fluctuations and their effects on microbial communities, populations and individuals

作者：Jen Nguyen, Juanita Lara‐Gutiérrez, Roman Stocker · 发表于：FEMS Microbiology Reviews · 年份：2020 · DOI：10.1093/femsre/fuaa068 · 被引用次数：328 · 研究领域：Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology、Evolution and Genetic Dynamics、Gut microbiota and health

From the homeostasis of human health to the cycling of Earth's elements, microbial activities underlie environmental, medical and industrial processes. These activities occur in chemical and physical landscapes that are highly dynamic and experienced by bacteria as fluctuations. In this review, we first discuss how bacteria can experience both spatial and temporal heterogeneity in their environments as temporal fluctuations of various timescales (seconds to seasons) and types (nutrient, sunlight, fluid flow, etc.). We then focus primarily on nutrient fluctuations to discuss how bacterial communities, populations and single cells respond to environmental fluctuations. Overall, we find that environmental fluctuations are ubiquitous and diverse, and strongly shape microbial behavior, ecology and evolution when compared with environments in which conditions remain constant over time. We hope this review may serve as a guide toward understanding the significance of environmental fluctuations in microbial life, such that their contributions and implications can be better assessed and exploited.