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Cited by 45Microbial Fuel Cells and BioremediationMicrobial metabolism and enzyme functionMicrobial Community Ecology and Physiology

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 1 of the 1 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

The energetics of anabolism in natural settings

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LaRowe, Douglas E, Amend, Jan P·2016·The ISME Journal
DOI 10.1038/ismej.2015.227PMC PMC5029197
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Abstract

The environmental conditions that describe an ecosystem define the amount of energy available to the resident organisms and the amount of energy required to build biomass. Here, we quantify the amount of energy required to make biomass as a function of temperature, pressure, redox state, the sources of C, N and S, cell mass and the time that an organism requires to double or replace its biomass. Specifically, these energetics are calculated from 0 to 125 °C, 0.1 to 500 MPa and −0.38 to +0.86 V using CO2, acetate or CH4 for C, NO3− or NH4+ for N and SO42− or HS− for S. The amounts of energy associated with synthesizing the biomolecules that make up a cell, which varies over 39 kJ (g cell)−1, are then used to compute energy-based yield coefficients for a vast range of environmental conditions. Taken together, environmental variables and the range of cell sizes leads to a ~4 orders of magnitude difference between the number of microbial cells that can be made from a Joule of Gibbs energy under the most (5.06 × 1011 cells J−1) and least (5.21 × 107 cells J−1) ideal conditions. When doubling/replacement time is taken into account, the range of anabolism energies can expand even further.

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  • In other research fields, e.g. bio-geochemical processes in marine environments, and taking into account different pressure, temperature, pH and N-sources for cell synthesis, the reported ∆Gpc value is 302 J per gram cells.

    “In other research fields, e.g. bio-geochemical processes in marine environments, and taking into account different pressure, temperature, pH and N-sources for cell synthesis the reported ∆Gpc value is 302 J per gram cells [3], [37], [38].”

    From MbT-Tool: An open-access tool based on Thermodynamic Electron Equivalents Model to obtain microbial-metabolic reactions to be used in biotechnological process (2016) · cites this paper as [37]

    The Computational techniques section calculates ΔGpoly per dry gram of cells and considers temperature and pressure, but it does not report 302 J per gram. Its stated example at 25 °C and 0.1 MPa totals 347 J per gram (191 J for protein plus 156 J for other polymers). The paper considers different nitrogen sources, but says its biomolecule-synthesis energetics were calculated at pH 7, not across different pH values. Page numbers are unavailable in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • If the empirical chemical formula includes two more elements, e.g. phosphorous and sulphur, the fitness increases to around 98-99%.

    “If the formula only considers four elements, the fitness is close to 95%, but if we include two more elements, e.g. phosphorous and sulphur, the fitness increase its value to around 98–99% [36], [37].”

    From MbT-Tool: An open-access tool based on Thermodynamic Electron Equivalents Model to obtain microbial-metabolic reactions to be used in biotechnological process (2016) · cites this paper as [37]

    The Computational techniques section discusses phosphorus and sulfur sources, and Table 3 uses a four-element biomass formula, C5H7NO2. Searches for fitness, the addition of two elements, and the cited 95% and 98–99% figures found no passage evaluating formula fit or reporting those percentages in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.74)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • If the empirical chemical formula only considers four elements, the fitness is close to 95%.

    “If the formula only considers four elements, the fitness is close to 95%, but if we include two more elements, e.g. phosphorous and sulphur, the fitness increase its value to around 98–99% [36], [37].”

    From MbT-Tool: An open-access tool based on Thermodynamic Electron Equivalents Model to obtain microbial-metabolic reactions to be used in biotechnological process (2016) · cites this paper as [37]

    The Computational techniques section uses a four-element biomass formula, C5H7NO2, but does not report how well that formula fits empirical composition. Searches for “95%,” formula fitness, and the proposed improvement from adding phosphorus and sulfur found no supporting passage in our copy; page numbers were unavailable. (LLM, conf=0.76)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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Metadata

Authors
LaRowe, D. E., & Amend, J. P.
Affiliations
University of Southern California (US)
ORCID
Venue
The ISME Journal
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Published
2016-02-09
Volume
10
Issue
6
Pages
1285-1295
ISSN
  • 1751-7362 (ISSN-L)
  • 1751-7370
DOI
10.1038/ismej.2015.227
PMC
PMC5029197
OpenAlex
W2272275473
Cited by
45
References
1
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 7 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 3
FWCI
2.77
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • The ISME Journal (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NNA13AA92A)
  • University of Southern California
  • Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations (OCE0939564)
  • NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI-LU, NNA13AA92A, NNA13AA92A)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Engineering › Microbial Fuel Cells and Bioremediation
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Microbial metabolism and enzyme function
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology
Keywords
Gibbs free energy, temperature dependence, pressure dependence, redox potential, carbon source, nitrogen source, sulfur source, cell doubling time, cell size, extreme environments
MeSH terms
Energy Metabolism, Environment, Metabolism, Microbiology, Models, Theoretical, Oxidation-Reduction, Temperature, Ecosystem, Biomass

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