TY - JOUR
T1 - Using Structural Equation Modeling to Understand Interactions Between Bacterial and Archaeal Populations and Volatile Fatty Acid Proportions in the Rumen
AU - Kaplan-Shabtai, Veronica
AU - Indugu, Nagaraju
AU - Hennessy, Meagan Leslie
AU - Vecchiarelli, Bonnie
AU - Bender, Joseph Samuel
AU - Stefanovski, Darko
AU - De Assis Lage, Camila Flavia
AU - Räisänen, Susanna Elisabeth
AU - Melgar, Audino
AU - Nedelkov, Krum
AU - Fetter, Molly Elizabeth
AU - Fernandez, Andrea
AU - Spitzer, Addison
AU - Hristov, Alexander Nikolov
AU - Pitta, Dipti Wilhelmina
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© Copyright © 2021 Kaplan-Shabtai, Indugu, Hennessy, Vecchiarelli, Bender, Stefanovski, De Assis Lage, Räisänen, Melgar, Nedelkov, Fetter, Fernandez, Spitzer, Hristov and Pitta.
PY - 2021/6/9
Y1 - 2021/6/9
N2 - Microbial syntrophy (obligate metabolic mutualism) is the hallmark of energy-constrained anaerobic microbial ecosystems. For example, methanogenic archaea and fermenting bacteria coexist by interspecies hydrogen transfer in the complex microbial ecosystem in the foregut of ruminants; however, these synergistic interactions between different microbes in the rumen are seldom investigated. We hypothesized that certain bacteria and archaea interact and form specific microbial cohorts in the rumen. To this end, we examined the total (DNA-based) and potentially metabolically active (cDNA-based) bacterial and archaeal communities in rumen samples of dairy cows collected at different times in a 24 h period. Notably, we found the presence of distinct bacterial and archaeal networks showing potential metabolic interactions that were correlated with molar proportions of specific volatile fatty acids (VFAs). We employed hypothesis-driven structural equation modeling to test the significance of and to quantify the extent of these relationships between bacteria-archaea-VFAs in the rumen. Furthermore, we demonstrated that these distinct microbial networks were host-specific and differed between cows indicating a natural variation in specific microbial networks in the rumen of dairy cows. This study provides new insights on potential microbial metabolic interactions in anoxic environments that have broader applications in methane mitigation, energy conservation, and agricultural production.
AB - Microbial syntrophy (obligate metabolic mutualism) is the hallmark of energy-constrained anaerobic microbial ecosystems. For example, methanogenic archaea and fermenting bacteria coexist by interspecies hydrogen transfer in the complex microbial ecosystem in the foregut of ruminants; however, these synergistic interactions between different microbes in the rumen are seldom investigated. We hypothesized that certain bacteria and archaea interact and form specific microbial cohorts in the rumen. To this end, we examined the total (DNA-based) and potentially metabolically active (cDNA-based) bacterial and archaeal communities in rumen samples of dairy cows collected at different times in a 24 h period. Notably, we found the presence of distinct bacterial and archaeal networks showing potential metabolic interactions that were correlated with molar proportions of specific volatile fatty acids (VFAs). We employed hypothesis-driven structural equation modeling to test the significance of and to quantify the extent of these relationships between bacteria-archaea-VFAs in the rumen. Furthermore, we demonstrated that these distinct microbial networks were host-specific and differed between cows indicating a natural variation in specific microbial networks in the rumen of dairy cows. This study provides new insights on potential microbial metabolic interactions in anoxic environments that have broader applications in methane mitigation, energy conservation, and agricultural production.
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85109186397&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3389/fmicb.2021.611951
DO - 10.3389/fmicb.2021.611951
M3 - Article
C2 - 34220728
AN - SCOPUS:85109186397
SN - 1664-302X
VL - 12
JO - Frontiers in Microbiology
JF - Frontiers in Microbiology
M1 - 611951
ER -