From dividing to dormant: embracing the full activity spectrum for environmental microorganisms

Area of Science:

• Microbiology
• Environmental Science
• Molecular Biology

Background:

• Microbial life exhibits a range of metabolic activity, from highly active to dormant states.
• This spectrum is critical for understanding microbial persistence, dispersal, and survival in diverse ecosystems.
• Current approaches often oversimplify microbial activity as a binary (active vs. dormant).

Purpose of the Study:

• To reconceptualize microbial activity as a spectrum rather than a binary state.
• To synthesize advances in microbial dormancy and methods for quantifying activity.
• To guide interpretation of microbial activity along a generalizable continuum.

Main Methods:

• Literature synthesis of terrestrial, aquatic, and wastewater treatment ecosystems.
• Review of current and emerging methods to quantify environmental microbial activity.
• Linking quantification methods to the Central Dogma (DNA to RNA to protein).

Main Results:

• Microbial activity is best understood as a continuum, not a binary state.
• Various methods can estimate active microbial cells and populations across ecosystems.
• Standardized reporting of community size, active abundance, and proportional activity is recommended.

Conclusions:

• Adopting a spectrum-based perspective enhances understanding of microbial roles in ecosystem function.
• Improved quantification of microbial activity is vital for addressing climate change and gene dispersal.
• Increased accessibility to precise activity-discriminating technologies is advocated.