Li Zibin, Zhou Mingda, Ran Xiaochuan, Wang Weigang, Wang Han, Wang Tong, Wang Yayi
State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, China.
Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai, China.
Appl Environ Microbiol. 2025 Feb 19;91(2):e0166824. doi: 10.1128/aem.01668-24. Epub 2025 Jan 6.
Thermodynamics has long been applied in predicting undiscovered microorganisms or analyzing energy flows in microbial metabolism, as well as evaluating microbial impacts on global element distributions. However, further development and refinement in this interdisciplinary field are still needed. This work endeavors to develop a whole-cycle framework integrating thermodynamics with microbiological studies, focusing on representative nitrogen-transforming microorganisms. Three crucial concepts (reaction favorability, energy balance, and reaction directionality) are discussed in relation to nitrogen-transforming reactions. Specifically, reaction favorability, which sheds lights on understanding the diversity of nitrogen-transforming microorganisms, has also provided guidance for novel bioprocess development. Energy balance, enabling the quantitative comparison of microbial energy efficiency, unravels the competitiveness of nitrogen-transforming microorganisms under substrate-limiting conditions. Reaction directionality, revealing the niche-differentiating patterns of nitrogen-transforming microorganisms, provides a foundation for predicting biogeochemical reactions under various environmental conditions. This review highlights the need for a more comprehensive integration of thermodynamics in environmental microbiology, aiming to comprehensively understand microbial impacts on the global environment from micro to macro scales.
长期以来，热力学一直被应用于预测未被发现的微生物、分析微生物代谢中的能量流动，以及评估微生物对全球元素分布的影响。然而，这个跨学科领域仍需要进一步发展和完善。这项工作致力于开发一个将热力学与微生物学研究相结合的全周期框架，重点关注具有代表性的氮转化微生物。文中讨论了与氮转化反应相关的三个关键概念（反应倾向性、能量平衡和反应方向性）。具体而言，反应倾向性有助于理解氮转化微生物的多样性，也为新型生物工艺的开发提供了指导。能量平衡能够对微生物的能量效率进行定量比较，揭示了底物限制条件下氮转化微生物的竞争力。反应方向性揭示了氮转化微生物的生态位分化模式，为预测各种环境条件下的生物地球化学反应提供了基础。本综述强调了在环境微生物学中更全面地整合热力学的必要性，旨在从微观到宏观尺度全面理解微生物对全球环境的影响。
