Every Microbe in Its Place
Scientists have long endorsed the concept of a unique biological niche for most animals and plants – a shark, for example, has a different role than a dolphin.
Bacteria instead usually have been relegated to an also-ran world of “functional redundancy” in which few species are considered unique, said Jed Fuhrman, holder of the McCulloch-Crosby Chair in Marine Biology in USC College.
In The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences’ Early Edition, Fuhrman and colleagues from USC and Columbia University show that most kinds of bacteria are not interchangeable and that each thrives under predictable conditions and at predictable times.
Conversely, the kinds and numbers of bacteria in a sample can show where and when it was taken.
“I could tell you what month it is if you just got me a sample of water from out there,” Fuhrman said.
The researchers took monthly bacteria samples for more than four years in the Pacific Ocean near the USC Wrigley Institute’s marine laboratory on Catalina Island.
They used statistical methods to correlate the bacteria counts with the Wrigley Institute’s monthly measurements of water temperature, salinity, nutrient content, plant matter and other variables.
The researchers found they could predict the makeup of the bacterial population by the conditions in the water more than four times in five.
A majority of bacterial species came and went predictably, Fuhrman said. A smaller “wild card” group in each sample was not predictable and could represent the bacterial equivalent of weeds and other redundant plants.
“Wherever we looked, we found predictable kinds, but within the groups there were always less predictable and more predictable members,” Fuhrman said.
“They’re just like animals and plants in the way they function in the system. Each one has its own place.”
The findings have immediate relevance for scientists attempting to understand how the oceans are changing, Fuhrman said. If bacteria behave predictably, they can be used to improve models for ocean change.
By including bacteria, which make up the vast majority of species on land and sea, “we have some hope of predicting how changes are going to happen,” Fuhrman said.
Funding for the group’s research came from the National Science Foundation.
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The Chronicle of Higher Education mentioned USC’s $6 billion fundraising campaign. The story noted that USC had already raised $1 billion in a “quiet phase,” including the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College.
The Guardian (U.K.) highlighted two major gifts to USC in a list of the 10 biggest philanthropic benefactors in America. The list included the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College, and the $110 million gift from USC Trustee and USC Viterbi School alumnus John Mork and wife Julie to create the USC Mork Family Scholars Program.
The New York Times featured the USC U.S.-China Institute documentary “Assignment: China — The Week that Changed the World.” The documentary, part of a series, examines media coverage of the 1972 Nixon trip that reshaped U.S.-China relations after a quarter century of isolation and hostility. “People look back now and take it for granted that the outcome was preordained,” said the institute’s Mike Chinoy, who produced the documentary. Voice of America also featured the story.
Los Angeles Times featured the Oscar Senti-meter, a tool developed by the USC Annenberg School, Los Angeles Times and IBM that analyzes thousands of tweets about the Academy Awards nominees. The story noted that Mexican actor Demian Bechir received an enormous boost on Twitter the day of the nominations, with a total of 6,893 tweets mentioning him, a 47-fold increase from the day before. The story noted the tool uses language-recognition technology developed in collaboration with USC Viterbi School’s Signal Analysis and Interpretation Lab.
The Times of India (India) featured a three-day medical emergency training workshop organized in association with USC. At the workshop, held at GCS Medical College in India, 50 doctors and more than 100 paramedics learned how to improve emergency support systems. William Mallon of the Keck School of USC said that discussion topics included the use of portable ultrasonic devices to scan patients. “The ultrasound applications help physicians make accurate and timely decisions,” he noted. Daily News & Analysis (India) also featured the workshop.
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