Rapid evolution in necromass use under resource limitation reduces persistence in producer-decomposer microbial biospheres
Shaoyi Jiang, Alexandra Halbleib, Janis Antonovics, Mitja Remus-Emsermann, Matthias C. Rillig, India Mansour · 2026
Read Rapid evolution in necromass use under resource limitation reduces persistence in producer-decomposer microbial biospheres by Shaoyi Jiang, Alexandra Halbleib, Janis Antonovics, Mitja Remus-Emsermann, Matthias C. Rillig, India Mansour (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/pmc-13234324.txt.
Description
Shaoyi Jiang and co-authors reported in 2026 on bacteria that learn to live by recycling the remains of dead cells. The material, called necromass, can feed later generations when food is scarce. Their question was whether better recycling also helps a whole closed microbial system last longer. Escherichia coli bacteria were kept for sixty days in sealed, nutrient-free salt solution.
Adapted bacteria grew better on several carbon sources, moved less, and formed more biofilm, with patterns shaped by spatial layout. The adapted strains were then paired with a green alga in closed biospheres. Under uneven spatial conditions, those systems lasted about a quarter less time than systems with non-adapted bacteria. The result warns that efficient recycling in one species can weaken wider system persistence.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Shaoyi Jiang, Alexandra Halbleib, Janis Antonovics, Mitja Remus-Emsermann, Matthias C. Rillig, India Mansour |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 62 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |