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Prokaryotes: The unseen majority
Open accessAbstract
The number of prokaryotes and the total amount of their cellular carbon on earth are estimated to be 4–6 × 10 30 cells and 350–550 Pg of C (1 Pg = 10 15 g), respectively. Thus, the total amount of prokaryotic carbon is 60–100% of the estimated total carbon in plants, and inclusion of prokaryotic carbon in global models will almost double estimates of the amount of carbon stored in living organisms. In addition, the earth’s prokaryotes contain 85–130 Pg of N and 9–14 Pg of P, or about 10-fold more of these nutrients than do plants, and represent the largest pool of these nutrients in living organisms. Most of the earth’s prokaryotes occur in the open ocean, in soil, and in oceanic and terrestrial subsurfaces, where the numbers of cells are 1.2 × 10 29 , 2.6 × 10 29 , 3.5 × 10 30 , and 0.25–2.5 × 10 30 , respectively. The numbers of heterotrophic prokaryotes in the upper 200 m of the open ocean, the ocean below 200 m, and soil are consistent with average turnover times of 6–25 days, 0.8 yr, and 2.5 yr, respectively. Although subject to a great deal of uncertainty, the estimate for the average turnover time of prokaryotes in the subsurface is on the order of 1–2 × 10 3 yr. The cellular production rate for all prokaryotes on earth is estimated at 1.7 × 10 30 cells/yr and is highest in the open ocean. The large population size and rapid growth of prokaryotes provides an enormous capacity for genetic diversity.
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“However, the majority of astrobiological research is focused on the possible existence and detection of microbial life, which is the simplest, most robust, and most abundant form of life on our own planet (Whitman et al., 1998) and therefore is considered to be the most likely form of life to exist on other planets and moons.”
From The Astrobiology Primer v2.0 (2016) · cites this paper as Whitman et al., 1998
In the citing paper
“Given that there are estimated to be greater than 1030 prokaryotes on earth (Whitman et al., 1998), the vast majority of which are yet unstudied, there are likely to be more PFAS‐metabolizing bacteria uncovered.”
From Nothing lasts forever: understanding microbial biodegradation of polyfluorinated compounds and perfluorinated alkyl substances (2022) · cites this paper as Whitman et al., 1998
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“2 to 30 m), the microbial population decreases to about 10(11) to 10(6) microorganisms per kilogram respectively (Whitman et al., 1998) (for context, about 10(14) bacteria exist in the typical human body; Berg, 1996).”
BackgroundTemperature dependence of metabolic rates for microbial growth, maintenance, and survival
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Mom Knows Best: The Universality of Maternal Microbial Transmission
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“While the human microbiota comprises only 1–3% of an individual’s total body mass, this small percentage represents over 100 trillion microbial cells, outnumbering human cells 10 to 1 and adding over 8 million genes to our set of 22,000 [1,2].”
BackgroundAtmospheric Movement of Microorganisms in Clouds of Desert Dust and Implications for Human Health
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Antibiotic resistance in the environment: a link to the clinic?
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“There are 5 10(30) bacteria on the planet [9].”
BackgroundEnergetics of overall metabolic reactions of thermophilic and hyperthermophilic Archaea and Bacteria
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“It is increasingly apparent that surface thermal features and the organisms they support are giving researchers a glimpse of what life may be like in the deep subsurface [27,28].”
BackgroundRoots Shaping Their Microbiome: Global Hotspots for Microbial Activity
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Human Health and Ocean Pollution
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“Every cubic centimeter of seawater contains, on average, one million microbial cells and the global ocean harbor an estimated 4–6 × 1030 microbial cells [397].”
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“Within this environment, marine bacteria (and archaea) play a pivotal role in biogeochemical cycles while constantly assimilating, storing, transforming, exporting, and remineralizing the largest pool of organic carbon on the planet (1).”
BackgroundIntestinal microbiota in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease
Mouzaki, M., Comelli, E. M., Arendt, B. M., Bonengel, J., Fung, S. K., Fischer, S. E., McGilvray, I. D., & Allard, J. P. (2013) · Hepatology · doi:10.1002/hep.26319 · Cited by 749
“ALT (U/L)** 17 (6-41) b 32 (14-54) 69 (22-168)”
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Marine microbial diversity: can it be determined?
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A latitudinal diversity gradient in planktonic marine bacteria
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“This argument would suggest that bacteria, even smaller, more abundant, and more readily dispersed than protists (8), would also show little or no latitudinal gradient of diversity.”
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“Outnumbering living microbes, viruses are the most abundant biological entity on Earth: there are an estimated 1030 tailed bacteriophages in the biosphere [118].”
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Phage puppet masters of the marine microbial realm
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“Bacteria are among the most abundant and diverse groups of organisms on eart”
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“The number of prokaryotic cells on earth is estimated to exceed 1030, of which the biggest fraction occurs in the soil (Whitman et al. 1998).”
BackgroundInagaki, F., Nunoura, T., Nakagawa, S., Teske, A., Lever, M. A., Lauer, A., Suzuki, M., Takai, K., Delwiche, M. E., Colwell, F. S., et al. (2006) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.0511033103 · Cited by 694
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The versatile ε-proteobacteria: key players in sulphidic habitats
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“e-Proteobacteria in terrestrial systems According to some researchers, an immense subsurface microbial biosphere might exist that is not just associated with marine sediments or deep-sea hydrothermal vent system”
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“This discovery inspired Whitman and colleagues to make a global extrapolation of the cell numbers that are present in the entire seabed, ranging from 10 cm of the subsurface down to the ocean crust or at least to the expected thermal limit for microbial life, which is approximately 100°”
BackgroundMetagenomics and future perspectives in virus discovery
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“Since prokaryotes are the most abundant organisms on this planet (Whitman et al. 1998), they are the most common hosts of viruses.”
BackgroundThe past, present, and future of antibiotics
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“diversity [1,2,3] and ecosystem functioning [4,5].”
BackgroundSpatial scaling of microbial biodiversity
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The gastrointestinal microbiota as a site for the biotransformation of drugs
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“This number makes the human gastrointestinal tract one of he most populated microhabitats on earth (Whitman et al., 1998).”
BackgroundMicrobial biodiversity in groundwater ecosystems
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“the bacteria and the archaea, has been estimated to equal that of terrestrial and marine plants ( Whitman et al. 1998 ), making them the largest unexplored reservoir of biodiversity on Earth.”
BackgroundInteraction of dietary compounds, especially polyphenols, with the intestinal microbiota: a review
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Metadata
- Authors
- Whitman, W. B., Coleman, D. C., & Wiebe, W. J.
- Affiliations
- University of Georgia (US)
- Venue
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Publisher
- National Academy of Sciences
- Published
- 1998-06-09
- Volume
- 95
- Issue
- 12
- Pages
- 6578-6583
- ISSN
- 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
- 1091-6490
- PMC
- PMC33863
- OpenAlex
- W2118001436
- Semantic Scholar
- 321e4c5e6031364c39db3cfdb151dcc2deaac1ba
- Cited by
- 4,871
- References
- 92
- Citations by year
- 2026: 86 · 2025: 134 · 2024: 159 · 2023: 220 · 2022: 190 · 2021: 252 · 2020: 223 · 2019: 238 · 2018: 273 · 2017: 251 · 2016: 281 · 2015: 282 · 2014: 311 · 2013: 252 · 2012: 238
- FWCI
- 6.26
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- europepmc.org
- Locations
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Soil Science › Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Oceanography › Marine Plankton and Biogeochemistry
- Keywords
- prokaryotes, nitrogen, phosphorus, open ocean, soil, subsurface environments, genetic diversity
- MeSH terms
- Prokaryotic Cells
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