Functional convergence in slow-growing microbial communities arises from thermodynamic constraints.

ABSTRACT: The dynamics of microbial communities is complex, determined by competition for metabolic substrates and cross-feeding of byproducts. Species in the community grow by harvesting energy from chemical reactions that transform substrates to products. In many anoxic environments, these reactions are close to thermodynamic equilibrium and growth is slow. To understand the community structure in these energy-limited environments, we developed a microbial community consumer-resource model incorporating energetic and thermodynamic constraints on an interconnected metabolic network. The central element of the model is product inhibition, meaning that microbial growth may be limited not only by depletion of metabolic substrates but also by accumulation of products. We demonstrate that these addition

SUBMITTER: George AB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10432562 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature