Microbial Ecology

Population: Individual cells grow to form population

Guild: Group of metabolically related populations
Community: Set of guilds conducting complementary physiological
processes
Ecosystem: Different communities form the ecosystem

Classification systems
Whittakers 5 Kingdom system

Based on means of nutrition

Classification systems
Woeses 3 Kingdom system

Based on evolutionary relationships inferred from

comparison of macromolecular sequence data

Metabolic Classification of Life

Energy Source

Light
(Phototrophs)
PS I: anaerobic, H2S
PS II: aerobic, H2O

Inorganic
(Chemolithotrophs)
Chemical
(Chemolithotrophs)

Aerobic (majority)
Anaerobic (few)

Organic
(Chemoorganotrophs)
Aerobic respiration
Anaerobic respiration
Feremtation

Classification

Carbon Source

Photoautotrophs

Photoheterotrophs

Chemolithoautotrophs

CO2
(Autotrophs)

Chemolithoheterotrophs

Organic
(Heterotrophs)
Chemoorganoheterotrophs

Chemoorganoautotrophs

Interactions
Neutralism
Commensalism
Synergism
Mutualism
Competition
Antagonism
Parasitism
Predation

Biogeochemical Cycles - major part of the recycling process

Carbon Cycle: The primary biogeochemical cycle organic cmpds
CO2 and back

Nitrogen Cycle: proteins amino acids NH3NO2-NO3-NO2N2ON2 NH3 etc_

Carbon Cycle

Nitrogen Cycle

Anaerobic Digestion