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Abate R, Oon YS, Oon YL, Bi Y. Microalgae-bacteria nexus for environmental remediation and renewable energy resources: Advances, mechanisms and biotechnological applications. Heliyon 2024; 10:e31170. [PMID: 38813150 PMCID: PMC11133723 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e31170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2023] [Revised: 04/25/2024] [Accepted: 05/11/2024] [Indexed: 05/31/2024] Open
Abstract
Microalgae and bacteria, known for their resilience, rapid growth, and proximate ecological partnerships, play fundamental roles in environmental and biotechnological advancements. This comprehensive review explores the synergistic interactions between microalgae and bacteria as an innovative approach to address some of the most pressing environmental issues and the demands of clean and renewable freshwater and energy sources. Studies indicated that microalgae-bacteria consortia can considerably enhance the output of biotechnological applications; for instance, various reports showed during wastewater treatment the COD removal efficiency increased by 40%-90.5 % due to microalgae-bacteria consortia, suggesting its great potential amenability in biotechnology. This review critically synthesizes research works on the microalgae and bacteria nexus applied in the advancements of renewable energy generation, with a special focus on biohydrogen, reclamation of wastewater and desalination processes. The mechanisms of underlying interactions, the environmental factors influencing consortia performance, and the challenges and benefits of employing these bio-complexes over traditional methods are also discussed in detail. This paper also evaluates the biotechnological applications of these microorganism consortia for the augmentation of biomass production and the synthesis of valuable biochemicals. Furthermore, the review sheds light on the integration of microalgae-bacteria systems in microbial fuel cells for concurrent energy production, waste treatment, and resource recovery. This review postulates microalgae-bacteria consortia as a sustainable and efficient solution for clean water and energy, providing insights into future research directions and the potential for industrial-scale applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rediat Abate
- Key Laboratory of Algal Biology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430072, China
| | - Yoong-Sin Oon
- State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei, 430072, China
| | - Yoong-Ling Oon
- State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei, 430072, China
| | - Yonghong Bi
- Key Laboratory of Algal Biology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430072, China
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Wienhausen G, Moraru C, Bruns S, Tran DQ, Sultana S, Wilkes H, Dlugosch L, Azam F, Simon M. Ligand cross-feeding resolves bacterial vitamin B 12 auxotrophies. Nature 2024; 629:886-892. [PMID: 38720071 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07396-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2021] [Accepted: 04/08/2024] [Indexed: 05/24/2024]
Abstract
Cobalamin (vitamin B12, herein referred to as B12) is an essential cofactor for most marine prokaryotes and eukaryotes1,2. Synthesized by a limited number of prokaryotes, its scarcity affects microbial interactions and community dynamics2-4. Here we show that two bacterial B12 auxotrophs can salvage different B12 building blocks and cooperate to synthesize B12. A Colwellia sp. synthesizes and releases the activated lower ligand α-ribazole, which is used by another B12 auxotroph, a Roseovarius sp., to produce the corrin ring and synthesize B12. Release of B12 by Roseovarius sp. happens only in co-culture with Colwellia sp. and only coincidently with the induction of a prophage encoded in Roseovarius sp. Subsequent growth of Colwellia sp. in these conditions may be due to the provision of B12 by lysed cells of Roseovarius sp. Further evidence is required to support a causative role for prophage induction in the release of B12. These complex microbial interactions of ligand cross-feeding and joint B12 biosynthesis seem to be widespread in marine pelagic ecosystems. In the western and northern tropical Atlantic Ocean, bacteria predicted to be capable of salvaging cobinamide and synthesizing only the activated lower ligand outnumber B12 producers. These findings add new players to our understanding of B12 supply to auxotrophic microorganisms in the ocean and possibly in other ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerrit Wienhausen
- Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), School of Mathematics and Science, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany.
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Marine Biology Research Division, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
| | - Cristina Moraru
- Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), School of Mathematics and Science, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
- Environmental Metagenomics, Research Center One Health Ruhr of the University Alliance Ruhr, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Stefan Bruns
- Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), School of Mathematics and Science, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Den Quoc Tran
- Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), School of Mathematics and Science, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Sabiha Sultana
- Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), School of Mathematics and Science, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Heinz Wilkes
- Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), School of Mathematics and Science, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Leon Dlugosch
- Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), School of Mathematics and Science, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Farooq Azam
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Marine Biology Research Division, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Meinhard Simon
- Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), School of Mathematics and Science, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany.
- Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity at the University of Oldenburg (HIFMB), Oldenburg, Germany.
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Zhou J, Qin W, Lu X, Yang Y, Stahl D, Jiao N, Zhou J, Liu J, Tu Q. The diversity and ecological significance of microbial traits potentially involved in B 12 biosynthesis in the global ocean. MLIFE 2023; 2:416-427. [PMID: 38818271 PMCID: PMC10989127 DOI: 10.1002/mlf2.12095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2023] [Revised: 08/21/2023] [Accepted: 10/04/2023] [Indexed: 06/01/2024]
Abstract
Cobalamin (B12), an essential nutrient and growth cofactor for many living organisms on Earth, can be fully synthesized only by selected prokaryotes in nature. Therefore, microbial communities related to B12 biosynthesis could serve as an example subsystem to disentangle the underlying ecological mechanisms balancing the function and taxonomic make-up of complex functional assemblages. By anchoring microbial traits potentially involved in B12 biosynthesis, we depict the biogeographic patterns of B12 biosynthesis genes and the taxa harboring them in the global ocean, despite the limitations of detecting de novo B12 synthesizers via metagenomes alone. Both the taxonomic and functional composition of B12 biosynthesis genes were strongly shaped by depth, differentiating the epipelagic zones from the mesopelagic layers. Functional genes related to B12 biosynthesis were relatively stably distributed across different oceans, but the taxa harboring them varied considerably, showing clear functional redundancy among microbial systems. Microbial taxa carrying B12 biosynthesis genes in the surface water were influenced by environmental factors such as temperature, oxygen, and nitrate. However, the composition of functional genes was only weakly associated with these environmental factors. Null model analyses demonstrated that determinism governed the variations in B12 biosynthesis genes, whereas a higher degree of stochasticity was associated with taxonomic variations. Significant associations were observed between the chlorophyll a concentration and B12 biosynthesis, confirming its importance in primary production in the global ocean. The results of this study reveal an essential ecological mechanism governing the assembly of microbes in nature: the environment selects for function rather than taxonomy; functional redundancy underlies stochastic community assembly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiayin Zhou
- Institute of Marine Science and TechnologyShandong UniversityQingdaoChina
- Joint Lab for Ocean Research and Education at Dalhousie UniversityShandong University and Xiamen UniversityQingdaoChina
| | - Wei Qin
- School of Biological SciencesUniversity of OklahomaNormanOklahomaUSA
| | - Xinda Lu
- Department of Civil and Environmental EngineeringMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridgeMassachusettsUSA
- Present address:
DermBiont Inc.BostonMassachusettsUSA
| | - Yunfeng Yang
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of EnvironmentTsinghua UniversityBeijingChina
| | - David Stahl
- Department of Civil and Environmental EngineeringUniversity of WashingtonSeattleWashingtonUSA
| | - Nianzhi Jiao
- Institute of Marine Science and TechnologyShandong UniversityQingdaoChina
- Institute of Marine Microbes and EcospheresXiamen UniversityXiamenChina
| | - Jizhong Zhou
- School of Biological SciencesUniversity of OklahomaNormanOklahomaUSA
- Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lawrence Berkeley National LaboratoryBerkeleyCaliforniaUSA
- Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of OklahomaNormanOklahomaUSA
- School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences, University of OklahomaNormanOklahomaUSA
- School of Computer Sciences, University of OklahomaNormanOklahomaUSA
| | - Jihua Liu
- Institute of Marine Science and TechnologyShandong UniversityQingdaoChina
- Joint Lab for Ocean Research and Education at Dalhousie UniversityShandong University and Xiamen UniversityQingdaoChina
| | - Qichao Tu
- Institute of Marine Science and TechnologyShandong UniversityQingdaoChina
- Joint Lab for Ocean Research and Education at Dalhousie UniversityShandong University and Xiamen UniversityQingdaoChina
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Sultana S, Bruns S, Wilkes H, Simon M, Wienhausen G. Vitamin B 12 is not shared by all marine prototrophic bacteria with their environment. THE ISME JOURNAL 2023; 17:836-845. [PMID: 36914732 DOI: 10.1038/s41396-023-01391-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2022] [Revised: 02/20/2023] [Accepted: 02/23/2023] [Indexed: 03/14/2023]
Abstract
Vitamin B12 (cobalamin, herein B12) is an essential cofactor involved in amino acid synthesis and carbon resupply to the TCA cycle for most prokaryotes, eukaryotic microorganisms, and animals. Despite being required by most, B12 is produced by only a minor fraction of prokaryotes and therefore leads to complex interaction between prototrophs and auxotrophs. However, it is unknown how B12 is provided by prototrophs to auxotrophs. In this study, 33 B12 prototrophic alphaproteobacterial strains were grown in co-culture with Thalassiosira pseudonana, a B12 auxotrophic diatom, to determine the bacterial ability to support the growth of the diatom by sharing B12. Among these strains, 18 were identified to share B12 with the diatom, while nine were identified to retain B12 and not support growth of the diatom. The other bacteria either shared B12 with the diatom only with the addition of substrate or inhibited the growth of the diatom. Extracellular B12 measurements of B12-provider and B12-retainer strains confirmed that the cofactor could only be detected in the environment of the tested B12-provider strains. Intracellular B12 was measured by LC-MS and showed that the concentrations of the different B12-provider as well as B12-retainer strains differed substantially. Although B12 is essential for the vast majority of microorganisms, mechanisms that export this essential cofactor are still unknown. Our results suggest that a large proportion of bacteria that can synthesise B12 de novo cannot share the cofactor with their environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabiha Sultana
- Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment, University of Oldenburg, Carl von Ossietzky Str. 9-11, D-26129, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Stefan Bruns
- Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment, University of Oldenburg, Carl von Ossietzky Str. 9-11, D-26129, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Heinz Wilkes
- Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment, University of Oldenburg, Carl von Ossietzky Str. 9-11, D-26129, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Meinhard Simon
- Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment, University of Oldenburg, Carl von Ossietzky Str. 9-11, D-26129, Oldenburg, Germany.,Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity at the University of Oldenburg (HIFMB), Ammerländer Heerstraße 231, D-26129, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Gerrit Wienhausen
- Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment, University of Oldenburg, Carl von Ossietzky Str. 9-11, D-26129, Oldenburg, Germany. .,Institute for Medical Microbiology and Virology, Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, D-26129, Oldenburg, Germany.
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Milke F, Wagner-Doebler I, Wienhausen G, Simon M. Selection, drift and community interactions shape microbial biogeographic patterns in the Pacific Ocean. THE ISME JOURNAL 2022; 16:2653-2665. [PMID: 36115923 PMCID: PMC9666467 DOI: 10.1038/s41396-022-01318-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2022] [Revised: 09/01/2022] [Accepted: 09/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Despite accumulating data on microbial biogeographic patterns in terrestrial and aquatic environments, we still lack a comprehensive understanding of how these patterns establish, in particular in ocean basins. Here we show the relative significance of the ecological mechanisms selection, dispersal and drift for shaping the composition of microbial communities in the Pacific Ocean over a transect of 12,400 km between subantarctic and subarctic regions. In the epipelagic, homogeneous selection contributes 50-60% and drift least to the three mechanism for the assembly of prokaryotic communities whereas in the upper mesopelagic, drift is relatively most important for the particle-associated subcommunities. Temperature is important for the relative significance of homogeneous selection and dispersal limitation for community assembly. The relative significance of both mechanisms was inverted with increasing temperature difference along the transect. For eukaryotes >8 µm, homogeneous selection is also the most important mechanisms at two epipelagic depths whereas at all other depths drift is predominant. As species interactions are essential for structuring microbial communities we further analyzed co-occurrence-based community metrics to assess biogeographic patterns over the transect. These interaction-adjusted indices explained much better variations in microbial community composition as a function of abiotic and biotic variables than compositional or phylogenetic distance measures like Bray-Curtis or UniFrac. Our analyses are important to better understand assembly processes of microbial communities in the upper layers of the largest ocean and how they adapt to effectively perform in global biogeochemical processes. Similar principles presumably act upon microbial community assembly in other ocean basins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felix Milke
- grid.5560.60000 0001 1009 3608Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment, University of Oldenburg, Carl von Ossietzky Str. 9-11, D-26129 Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Irene Wagner-Doebler
- grid.6738.a0000 0001 1090 0254Institute of Microbiology, Technical University of Braunschweig, D-38106 Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Gerrit Wienhausen
- grid.5560.60000 0001 1009 3608Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment, University of Oldenburg, Carl von Ossietzky Str. 9-11, D-26129 Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Meinhard Simon
- grid.5560.60000 0001 1009 3608Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment, University of Oldenburg, Carl von Ossietzky Str. 9-11, D-26129 Oldenburg, Germany ,grid.511218.eHelmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity at the University of Oldenburg (HIFMB), Ammerländer Heerstraße 231, D-26129 Oldenburg, Germany
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Abstract
The skin microbiome is a key player in human health, with diverse functions ranging from defense against pathogens to education of the immune system. While recent studies have begun to shed light on the valuable role that skin microorganisms have in maintaining the skin barrier, a detailed understanding of the complex interactions that shape healthy skin microbial communities is limited. Cobamides, the vitamin B12 class of cofactor, are essential for organisms across the tree of life. Because this vitamin is only produced by a limited fraction of prokaryotes, cobamide sharing is predicted to mediate community dynamics within microbial communities. Here, we provide the first large-scale metagenomic assessment of cobamide biosynthesis and utilization in the skin microbiome. We show that while numerous and diverse taxa across the major bacterial phyla on the skin encode cobamide-dependent enzymes, relatively few species encode de novo cobamide biosynthesis. We show that cobamide producers and users are integrated into the network structure of microbial communities across the different microenvironments of the skin and that changes in microbiome community structure and diversity are associated with the abundance of cobamide producers in the Corynebacterium genus, for both healthy and diseased skin states. Finally, we find that de novo cobamide biosynthesis is enriched only in Corynebacterium species associated with hosts, including those prevalent on human skin. We confirm that the cofactor is produced in excess through quantification of cobamide production by human skin-associated species isolated in the laboratory. Taken together, our results reveal the potential for cobamide sharing within skin microbial communities, which we hypothesize mediates microbiome community dynamics and host interactions. IMPORTANCE The skin microbiome is essential for maintaining skin health and function. However, the microbial interactions that dictate microbiome structure, stability, and function are not well understood. Here, we investigate the biosynthesis and use of cobamides, a cofactor needed by many organisms but only produced by select prokaryotes, within the human skin microbiome. We found that while a large proportion of skin taxa encode cobamide-dependent enzymes, only a select few encode de novo cobamide biosynthesis. Further, the abundance of cobamide-producing Corynebacterium species is associated with skin microbiome diversity and structure, and within this genus, de novo biosynthesis is enriched in host-associated species compared to environment-associated species. These findings identify cobamides as a potential mediator of skin microbiome dynamics and skin health.
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Wienhausen G, Bruns S, Sultana S, Dlugosch L, Groon LA, Wilkes H, Simon M. The overlooked role of a biotin precursor for marine bacteria - desthiobiotin as an escape route for biotin auxotrophy. THE ISME JOURNAL 2022; 16:2599-2609. [PMID: 35963899 PMCID: PMC9561691 DOI: 10.1038/s41396-022-01304-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2022] [Revised: 07/19/2022] [Accepted: 07/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Biotin (vitamin B7) is involved in a wide range of essential biochemical reactions and a crucial micronutrient that is vital for many pro- and eukaryotic organisms. The few biotin measurements in the world’s oceans show that availability is subject to strong fluctuations. Numerous marine microorganisms exhibit biotin auxotrophy and therefore rely on supply by other organisms. Desthiobiotin is the primary precursor of biotin and has recently been detected at concentrations similar to biotin in seawater. The last enzymatic reaction in the biotin biosynthetic pathway converts desthiobiotin to biotin via the biotin synthase (BioB). The role of desthiobiotin as a precursor of biotin synthesis in microbial systems, however, is largely unknown. Here we demonstrate experimentally that bacteria can overcome biotin auxotrophy if they retain the bioB gene and desthiobiotin is available. A genomic search of 1068 bacteria predicts that the biotin biosynthetic potential varies greatly among different phylogenetic groups and that 20% encode solely bioB and thus can potentially overcome biotin auxotrophy. Many Actino- and Alphaproteobacteria cannot synthesize biotin de novo, but some possess solely bioB, whereas the vast majority of Gammaproteobacteria and Flavobacteriia exhibit the last four crucial biotin synthesis genes. We detected high intra- and extracellular concentrations of the precursor relative to biotin in the prototrophic bacterium, Vibrio campbellii, with extracellular desthiobiotin reaching up to 1.09 ± 0.15*106 molecules per cell during exponential growth. Our results provide evidence for the ecological role of desthiobiotin as an escape route to overcome biotin auxotrophy for bacteria in the ocean and presumably in other ecosystems.
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Hu R, Liu S, Saleem M, Xiong Z, Zhou Z, Luo Z, Shu L, He Z, Wang C. Environmentally‐induced reconstruction of microbial communities alters particulate carbon flux of deep chlorophyll maxima in the South China sea. Funct Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.14154] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ruiwen Hu
- Environmental Microbiomics Research Center School of Environmental Science and Engineering Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Sun Yat‐sen University Guangzhou China
| | - Songfeng Liu
- Environmental Microbiomics Research Center School of Environmental Science and Engineering Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Sun Yat‐sen University Guangzhou China
| | - Muhammad Saleem
- Department of Biological Sciences Alabama State University Montgomery AL USA
| | - Zhiyao Xiong
- School of Marine Sciences Sun Yat‐sen University Zhuhai
| | - Zhengyuan Zhou
- Environmental Microbiomics Research Center School of Environmental Science and Engineering Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Sun Yat‐sen University Guangzhou China
| | - Zhiwen Luo
- Environmental Microbiomics Research Center School of Environmental Science and Engineering Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Sun Yat‐sen University Guangzhou China
| | - Longfei Shu
- Environmental Microbiomics Research Center School of Environmental Science and Engineering Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Sun Yat‐sen University Guangzhou China
| | - Zhili He
- Environmental Microbiomics Research Center School of Environmental Science and Engineering Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Sun Yat‐sen University Guangzhou China
- College of Agronomy Hunan Agricultural University Changsha China
| | - Cheng Wang
- Environmental Microbiomics Research Center School of Environmental Science and Engineering Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Sun Yat‐sen University Guangzhou China
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