Resource scarcity is a common stress in nature and has a major impact on microbial physiology. This review highlights microbial acclimations to resource scarcity, focusing on resource investment strategies for chemoheterotrophs from the molecular level to the pathway level. Competitive resource allocation strategies often lead to a phenotype known as overflow metabolism; the resulting overflow byproducts can stabilize cooperative interactions in microbial communities and can lead to cross-feeding consortia. These consortia can exhibit emergent properties such as enhanced resource usage and biomass productivity. The literature distilled here draws parallels between in silico and laboratory studies and ties them together with ecological theories to better understand microbial stress responses and mutualistic consortia functioning.
-
Cover Image
Cover Image
A 3D rendering of a Ubiquitin protein molecule. In this issue of Biochemical Society Transactions, Ovaa and Vertegaal discuss the role of ubiquitination and SUMO proteins in conjugation and deconjugation machineries; for details, see pages 423–436.
Competitive resource allocation to metabolic pathways contributes to overflow metabolisms and emergent properties in cross-feeding microbial consortia Available to Purchase
Ross P. Carlson, Ashley E. Beck, Poonam Phalak, Matthew W. Fields, Tomas Gedeon, Luke Hanley, William R. Harcombe, Michael A. Henson, Jeffrey J. Heys; Competitive resource allocation to metabolic pathways contributes to overflow metabolisms and emergent properties in cross-feeding microbial consortia. Biochem Soc Trans 17 April 2018; 46 (2): 269–284. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/BST20170242
Download citation file:
Sign in
Sign in to your personal account
Biochemical Society Member Sign in
Sign InSign in via your Institution
Sign in via your InstitutionGet Access To This Article
Get Email Alerts
Open Access for all
We offer compliant routes for all authors from 2025. With library support, there will be no author nor reader charges in 5 journals. Check here |
![]() |