← Back to Communities

Trichodesmium-Alteromonas Marine Consortium

Community ID CommunityMech:000147
Ecological State STABLE
Environment warm oligotrophic marine water column
ENVO:00002149

A marine cyanobacterial colony consortium centered on the nitrogen-fixing photoautotroph Trichodesmium erythraeum IMS101 and conserved heterotrophic partners, especially Alteromonas macleodii. Multi-omics studies support recurring Trichodesmium-associated bacterial consortia in cultures and natural colonies, with potential interactions involving iron and phosphorus acquisition, vitamin B12 exchange, small-carbon compound catabolism, reactive oxygen detoxification, and coordinated diel resource cycling.

Taxonomy

Taxon Ontology ID Functional Roles Abundance
Trichodesmium erythraeum IMS101 NCBITaxon:203124
PRIMARY_PRODUCER
N/A
  • PMID:28440800 - SUPPORT (COMPUTATIONAL)
    "The nitrogen (N)-fixing cyanobacterium Trichodesmium is globally distributed"
Alteromonas macleodii Trichodesmium associate NCBITaxon:28108
CROSS_FEEDER SECONDARY_FERMENTER
N/A
  • PMID:28440800 - SUPPORT (COMPUTATIONAL)
    "conserved presence of a species of Gammaproteobacteria (Alteromonas macleodii)"
Trichodesmium-associated heterotrophic microbiome NCBITaxon:2
CROSS_FEEDER
N/A
  • PMID:29382945 - SUPPORT (COMPUTATIONAL)
    "Colonies of Trichodesmium ubiquitously occur with heterotrophic bacteria"

Ecological Interactions

Ecological interaction network for Trichodesmium-Alteromonas Marine Consortium Bipartite graph where circle nodes represent taxa and colored rectangles represent ecological interactions (cross-feeding, mutualism, syntrophy, competition, commensalism).
Taxon
Cross-feeding
Mutualism
Syntrophy
Competition
Commensalism
Niche partitioning
Colonization facilitation
Strain competition
Predation

Colony Substrate Colonization by Heterotrophs

COMMENSALISM

Source Taxon: Trichodesmium erythraeum IMS101

Target Taxon: Trichodesmium-associated heterotrophic microbiome

Biological Processes:

Evidence

  • PMID:28440800 - SUPPORT (COMPUTATIONAL)
    "macroscopic colonies that serve as relatively nutrient-rich substrates"

Alteromonas Helper Functions in Trichodesmium Colonies

MUTUALISM

Source Taxon: Alteromonas macleodii Trichodesmium associate

Target Taxon: Trichodesmium erythraeum IMS101

Metabolites: phosphate (CHEBI:18367), iron(2+) (CHEBI:29033)

Biological Processes:

Evidence

  • PMID:28440800 - SUPPORT (COMPUTATIONAL)
    "iron and phosphorus acquisition, vitamin B12 exchange"
  • PMID:28440800 - SUPPORT (COMPUTATIONAL)
    "detoxification of reactive oxygen species"

Diel Coordinated Resource Cycling

CROSS_FEEDING

Source Taxon: Trichodesmium erythraeum IMS101

Target Taxon: Trichodesmium-associated heterotrophic microbiome

Biological Processes:

Evidence

  • PMID:29382945 - SUPPORT (COMPUTATIONAL)
    "significantly coordinated patterns of gene expression between host and microbiome"
  • PMID:29382945 - SUPPORT (COMPUTATIONAL)
    "linked to key resources including nitrogen, carbon, and iron"

Associated Datasets

Dataset Type Repository Accession
Trichodesmium consortium metatranscriptomes
Publication reporting metatranscriptome sequencing of Trichodesmium colonies from the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. 		METATRANSCRIPTOME OTHER PMID:29382945

Environmental Factors

Factor Value Unit
oligotrophic warm ocean habitat warm oligotrophic oceans N/A
  • PMID:28440800 - SUPPORT (COMPUTATIONAL)
    "warm, oligotrophic oceans"
day-night cycle diel cycle N/A
  • PMID:29382945 - SUPPORT (COMPUTATIONAL)
    "significant day-night periodicity"