Centro de Investigación Oceanográfica COPAS Sur-Austral, Departamento de Oceanografía, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile; Centro FONDAP de Investigación Dinámica de Ecosistemas Marinos de Altas Latitudes (IDEAL), Valdivia, Chile.
Centro FONDAP de Investigación Dinámica de Ecosistemas Marinos de Altas Latitudes (IDEAL), Valdivia, Chile; Escuela de Ciencias del Mar, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile; Centro de Investigación y Formación San Ignacio de Huinay, Huinay, Chile.
Trends Microbiol. 2021 Jun;29(6):482-492. doi: 10.1016/j.tim.2020.10.007. Epub 2020 Dec 3.
Despite the recent increase in knowledge concerning microorganisms, the processes determining their global distribution and functioning have not been disentangled. Microbial dormant stages are adapted to endure specific adverse conditions related to their dispersion path, suggesting that dispersion is not entirely a stochastic process. Long-term dormancy enhances microbial dispersion, promoting the ubiquity of microorganisms. The evidence leads us to propose that there is a global, recurrent, and spatially cyclical dispersion of microorganisms that we have called the Microbial Conveyor Belt. These dispersion cycles directly influence the distribution of microorganisms, the global cycling of inorganic and organic matter, and thus the Earth system's functioning.
尽管最近对微生物的了解有所增加，但确定它们全球分布和功能的过程尚未理清。微生物的休眠阶段适应了忍受与其分散路径相关的特定不利条件，这表明分散并不完全是一个随机过程。长期休眠增强了微生物的分散，促进了微生物的普遍存在。这一证据使我们提出，存在一种全球性的、反复出现的、空间周期性的微生物分散，我们称之为微生物输送带。这些分散循环直接影响微生物的分布、无机和有机物质的全球循环，从而影响地球系统的功能。
