The DOI matches its Crossref record; 86 of the 92 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
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.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“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
Citations
Cites
Escherichia coli and Salmonella :cellular and molecular biology
Neidhardt, F. C. (1996) · ASM Press eBooks · Cited by 8,197
Report of the Ad Hoc Committee on Reconciliation of Approaches to Bacterial Systematics
Wayne, L. G., Moore, W. E., Stackebrandt, E. S., Kandler, O., Colwell, R. R., Krichevsky, M. I., Trüper, H. G., Murray, R. G. E., Grimont, P. A. D., Brenner, D. J., et al. (1987) · INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SYSTEMATIC AND EVOLUTIONARY MICROBIOLOGY · doi:10.1099/00207713-37-4-463 · Cited by 7,338
Hungate, R. E. (2013) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/c2013-0-12555-x · Cited by 3,060
Soil microbiology and biochemistry
(1989) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.26-6277 · Cited by 2,930
Bacterial production in fresh and saltwater ecosystems: a cross-system overview
Cole, J. R., Findlay, S., & Pace, M. L. (1988) · Marine Ecology Progress Series · doi:10.3354/meps043001 · Cited by 1,506
Relationships between Biovolume and Biomass of Naturally Derived Marine Bacterioplankton
Lee, S., & Fuhrman, J. A. (1987) · Applied and Environmental Microbiology · doi:10.1128/aem.53.6.1298-1303.1987 · Cited by 1,338
Sisson, S., & Grossman, J. D. (1958) · Australian Veterinary Journal · doi:10.1111/j.1751-0813.1958.tb05872.x · Cited by 1,245
Food Webs: Integration of Patterns and Dynamics.
Lodge, D. M., Polis, G. A., & Winemiller, K. O. (1997) · Ecology · doi:10.2307/2266040 · Cited by 798
Organic geochemistry: principles and applications
(1994) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.31-4371 · Cited by 733
Deep bacterial biosphere in Pacific Ocean sediments
Parkes, R. J., Cragg, B. A., Bale, S. J., Getliff, J., Goodman, K., Rochelle, P. A., Fry, J. C., Weightman, A. J., & Harvey, S. M. (1994) · Nature · doi:10.1038/371410a0 · Cited by 696
Flagged first, then by citations
6 of the 92 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.
Research works printed but not linked: 19
- E A Romankevich Geokhimiya (2), 292–306 (1988).
- 10.1007/bf02388732 · DOI
- A B Ronov, A A Yaroshevsky Geophysical Monograph 13: The Earth’s Crust and Upper Mantle, ed P J Hart (Am. Geophys. Union, Washington, DC), pp. 37–57 (1969).
- B A Cragg, S M Harvey, J C Fry, R A Hebert, R J Parkes Proc Ocean Drill Program: Sci Results 127/128 (Pt. 1), 761–776 (1992).
- B A Cragg Proc Ocean Drill Program: Sci Results 135, 147–150 (1994).
- B A Cragg, A E S Kemp Proc Ocean Drill Program: Sci Results 138, 599–604 (1995).
- B A Cragg, R J Parkes Proc Ocean Drill Program: Sci Results 139, 509–516 (1994).
- B A Cragg, R J Parkes, J C Fry, R A Hebert, J W T Wimpenny, J M Getliff Proc Ocean Drill Program: Sci Results 112, 607–619 (1990).
- B A Cragg, R J Parkes, J C Fry, A J Weightman, P A Rochelle, J R Maxwell, M Kastner, M Hovland, M J Whiticar, J C Sample Proc Ocean Drill Program: Sci Results 146 (Pt. 1), 399–411 (1995).
- B A Cragg, R J Parkes, J C Fry, A J Weightman, J R Maxwell, M Kastner, M Hovland, M J Whiticar, J C Sample, R Stein Proc Ocean Drill Program: Sci Results 146 (Pt. 2), 139–144 (1995).
- 10.1111/j.1365-294x.1996.tb00332.x · DOI
- J H Cummings, J G Banwell, I Segal, N Coleman, H N Englyst, G T Macfarlane Gastroenterology 98, A408 (1990).
- FAO Production Yearbook (Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, Rome) 48 (1994).
- H P Willett Zinsser Microbiology, eds W K Joklik, H P Willett, D B Amos, C M Wilfert (Appleton & Lange, 20th Ed., Norwalk, CT), pp. 393–400 (1992).
- 10.1111/j.1574-6968.1989.tb03698.x · DOI
- C A Carlson, N R Bales, D A Hansell, H W Ducklow EOS 79, OS171, (abstr.). (1998).
- W H Schlesinger Biogeochemistry (Academic, 2nd Ed., New York, 1997).
- L R Pomeroy, W J Wiebe Marine Microb Food Webs 7, 101–118 (1993).
- D S Jenkinson, J N Ladd, J H Rayner Soil Biochemistry, eds E A Paul, J N Ladd (Dekker, New York) 5, 415–471 (1980).
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 701–800 of 1,017
Chitosan Nanoparticle Encapsulation of Antibacterial Essential Oils
Negi, A., & Kesari, K. K. (2022) · Micromachines · doi:10.3390/mi13081265 · Cited by 124
“The biofilms comprise about 90% of microbial biomass of bacteria in the world [8], often producing secondary or nosocomial infections in patients with delineating diseases or histories of chronic disorders.”
BackgroundBenthic Bacterial and Fungal Productivity and Carbon Turnover in a Freshwater Marsh
Buesing, N., & Gessner, M. O. (2006) · Applied and Environmental Microbiology · doi:10.1128/aem.72.1.596-605.2006 · Cited by 123
“For benthic habitats and soils, in contrast, where most microbes occur globally (74) and most organic matter is turned over, information on annual microbial productivity is exceedingly scarce.”
BackgroundCrenarchaeota colonize terrestrial plant roots
Simon, H. M., Dodsworth, J. A., & Goodman, R. M. (2000) · Environmental Microbiology · doi:10.1046/j.1462-2920.2000.00131.x · Cited by 122
Upchurch, R. A., Chiu, C., Everett, K. D. E., Dyszynski, G. E., Coleman, D. C., & Whitman, W. B. (2007) · Soil Biology and Biochemistry · doi:10.1016/j.soilbio.2007.06.027 · Cited by 122
“Soil, one of the largest reservoirs for bacteria on earth, and its processes are greatly influenced by bacterial community structure, activity, and stability (Whitman et al., 1998; Dunbar et al., 1999, 2002; McCaig et al., 2001; Coleman and Whitman, 2005).”
BackgroundSelf-citationPressure as an environmental parameter for microbial life — A review
Picard, A., & Daniel, I. (2013) · Biophysical Chemistry · doi:10.1016/j.bpc.2013.06.019 · Cited by 125
Phylogenetic Diversity Analysis of Subterranean Hot Springs in Iceland
Marteinsson, V., Hauksdóttir, S., Hobel, C. F. V., et al. (2001) · Applied and Environmental Microbiology · doi:10.1128/aem.67.9.4242-4248.2001 · Cited by 122
Towards a prokaryotic genomic taxonomy
Coenye, T., Gevers, D., de Peer, Y. V., Vandamme, P. A. R., & Swings, J. (2005) · FEMS Microbiology Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.fmrre.2004.11.004 · Cited by 122
Uchiyama, T., & Miyazaki, K. (2010) · Applied and Environmental Microbiology · doi:10.1128/aem.00464-10 · Cited by 121
“Environmental microorganisms carry great potential as sources of industrial enzymes (5, 21); however, the majority of these organisms are difficult to culture in the laboratory (1, 29).”
BackgroundBiodiversity and the stability of ecosystem functioning
Griffin, J. N., O’Gorman, E. J., Emmerson, M., Jenkins, S. R., Klein, A., Loreau, M., & Symstad, A. J. (2009) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199547951.003.0006 · Cited by 124
Oxygen-sensing mechanisms across eukaryotic kingdoms and their roles in complex multicellularity
Hammarlund, E. U., Flashman, E., Mohlin, S., & Licausi, F. (2020) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.aba3512 · Cited by 120
Coleman, D. C., & Wall, D. H. (2014) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-415955-6.00005-0 · Cited by 123
Self-citationÁlvarez‐Pérez, S., & Herrera, C. M. (2012) · FEMS Microbiology Ecology · doi:10.1111/1574-6941.12027 · Cited by 120
Garcı́a-Fernández, J. M., de Marsac, N. T., & Díez, J. (2004) · Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews · doi:10.1128/mmbr.68.4.630-638.2004 · Cited by 120
Lin, X., Kennedy, D. W., Fredrickson, J. K., Bjornstad, B. N., & Konopka, A. E. (2011) · Environmental Microbiology · doi:10.1111/j.1462-2920.2011.02659.x · Cited by 121
Comparative analysis of carboxysome shell proteins
Kinney, J. N., Axen, S. D., & Kerfeld, C. A. (2011) · Photosynthesis Research · doi:10.1007/s11120-011-9624-6 · Cited by 119
“…Energy, Joint Genome Institute, 2800 Mitchell Drive, Walnut Creek, CA 94598, USA e-mail: CKerfeld@lbl.gov C. A. Kerfeld Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA role in the Earth’s primary production (Partensky et al. 1999; Whitman et al. 1998).”
BackgroundRelative Amino Acid Composition Signatures of Organisms and Environments
Moura, A., Savageau, M. A., & Alves, R. (2013) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0077319 · Cited by 119
“Given that single-cell organisms represent the vast majority of biomass in aquatic and terrestrial environments [12], to estimate such cRAAA we used the predicted proteome composition of prokaryotes and unicellular eukaryotes with fully sequenced genomes.”
MethodBy their genes ye shall know them: genomic signatures of predatory bacteria
Pasternak, Z., Pietrokovski, S., Rotem, O., Gophna, U., Lurie-Weinberger, M. N., & Jurkevitch, É. (2012) · The ISME Journal · doi:10.1038/ismej.2012.149 · Cited by 119
“In contrast, predation is much less understood in the microbial world, which actually comprises most of the biomass and biological diversity on Earth (Whitman et al., 1998).”
BackgroundMinich, J. J., Härer, A., Vechinski, J., Frable, B. W., Skelton, Z. R., Kunselman, E., Shane, M. A., Perry, D. S., Gonzalez, A., McDonald, D. T., et al. (2022) · Nature Communications · doi:10.1038/s41467-022-34557-2 · Cited by 119
Resolving the abundance and air-sea fluxes of airborne microorganisms in the North Atlantic Ocean
Mayol, E., Jiménez, M. A., Herndl, G. J., et al. (2014) · Frontiers in Microbiology · doi:10.3389/fmicb.2014.00557 · Cited by 118
“Determining the concentration and loads of atmospheric microbes is an important step, and the estimates provided here suggest that microbes are diluted in the atmosphere more than 9 or 11 orders of magnitude relative to their concentration in seawater or soils (Whitman et al., 1998).”
BackgroundSurface Sensing and Adaptation in Bacteria
Laventie, B., & Jenal, U. (2020) · Annual Review of Microbiology · doi:10.1146/annurev-micro-012120-063427 · Cited by 116
Functional response of the soil microbial community to biochar applications
Xu, W., Whitman, W. B., Gundale, M. J., Chien, C., & Chiu, C. (2020) · GCB Bioenergy · doi:10.1111/gcbb.12773 · Cited by 124
“These processes include C decomposition, N transformation, and nutrient uptake by plant roots (Castrillo et al., 2017; Karhu et al., 2014; Whitman et al., 1998).”
BackgroundSelf-citationBiologically Enhanced Energy and Carbon Cycling on Titan?
Schulze‐Makuch, D., & Grinspoon, D. H. (2005) · Astrobiology · doi:10.1089/ast.2005.5.560 · Cited by 118
“Fortes (2) pointed out that given the extremely cold surface, some of the simplest prebiotic reactions on Titan would have half-lives on the order of 107 years.”
BackgroundSanguin, H., Remenant, B., Dechesne, A., Thioulouse, J., Vogel, T. M., Nesme, X., Moënne‐Loccoz, Y., & Grundmann, G. L. (2006) · Applied and Environmental Microbiology · doi:10.1128/aem.02686-05 · Cited by 125
“However, bacterial diversity in complex ecosystems remains poorly documented (20, 79).”
BackgroundMCCOLLOM, T. M., & AMEND, J. P. (2005) · Geobiology · doi:10.1111/j.1472-4669.2005.00045.x · Cited by 141
“, 2005), and their potential contribution to global biomass production and the global C cycle are just beginning to be appreciated (Whitman et al., 1998).”
BackgroundGut microbiota and obesity: Role in aetiology and potential therapeutic target
Moran, C. P., & Shanahan, F. (2014) · Best Practice & Research Clinical Gastroenterology · doi:10.1016/j.bpg.2014.07.005 · Cited by 122
“Most indigenous microbes reside in the colon [4].”
BackgroundReconstructing a hydrogen-driven microbial metabolic network in Opalinus Clay rock
Bagnoud, A., Chourey, K., Hettich, R. L., de Bruijn, I., Andersson, A. F., Leupin, O. X., Schwyn, B., & Bernier‐Latmani, R. (2016) · Nature Communications · doi:10.1038/ncomms12770 · Cited by 120
Mottl, M. J., Glazer, B. T., Kaiser, R. I., & Meech, K. J. (2007) · Geochemistry · doi:10.1016/j.chemer.2007.09.002 · Cited by 117
“Of considerable interest is the growing evidence for a large subseafloor biosphere (Whitman et al., 1998; Cowen et al., 2003; Edwards et al., 2005; Nealson et al., 2005).”
BackgroundMarlière, P. (2009) · Systems and Synthetic Biology · doi:10.1007/s11693-009-9040-9 · Cited by 120
“Of the order of 10(31) microbial genomes are presently at work at the earth’s surface (Whitman et al. 1998), embodying most of the molecular know-how, metabolic and informational, that spontaneously originated, accumulated and integrated during evolution.”
BackgroundMcMeekin, T. A., Bowman, J. P., McQuestin, O. J., Mellefont, L., Ross, T., & Tamplin, M. L. (2008) · International Journal of Food Microbiology · doi:10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2008.06.026 · Cited by 116
Brazelton, W. J., Morrill, P. L., Szponar, N., & Schrenk, M. O. (2013) · Applied and Environmental Microbiology · doi:10.1128/aem.00330-13 · Cited by 113
Alneberg, J., Karlsson, C. M. G., Divne, A., Bergin, C., Homa, F., Lindh, M. V., Hugerth, L. W., Ettema, T. J. G., Bertilsson, S., Andersson, A. F., et al. (2018) · Microbiome · doi:10.1186/s40168-018-0550-0 · Cited by 117
Understanding the evolution of interspecies interactions in microbial communities
Gorter, F. A., Manhart, M., & Ackermann, M. (2020) · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rstb.2019.0256 · Cited by 119
“For example, the roughly 10(30) microbial cells on our planet contain 10 times more nitrogen than all plants combined and are responsible for half of the global production of O2 [6].”
BackgroundThe anammox case – A new experimental manifesto for microbiological eco-physiology
Strous, M., Kuenen, J. G., Fuerst, J. A., Wagner, M., & Jetten, M. S. M. (2002) · Antonie van Leeuwenhoek · doi:10.1023/a:1020590413079 · Cited by 116
“Calculations have shown that most of the microbial diversity is located in habitats such as the deep subsurface (Whitman et al. 1998), where the low growth rates of the bacteria make conventional isolation impossible, simply because of the long duration of the necessary experimental protocols.”
BackgroundBrzostowicz, P. C., Walters, D. M., Thomas, S. M., et al. (2003) · Applied and Environmental Microbiology · doi:10.1128/aem.69.1.334-342.2003 · Cited by 116
“Only a small fraction of microorganisms in most environments can be readily isolated (1, 58); therefore, gene discovery techniques which overcome the need for strain isolation provide access to the diversity of microbial chemistry.”
BackgroundGriffin, D. W., Westphal, D. L., & Gray, M. A. (2006) · Aerobiologia · doi:10.1007/s10453-006-9033-z · Cited by 116
Petrić, I. S., Philippot, L., Abbate, C., et al. (2011) · Journal of Microbiological Methods · doi:10.1016/j.mimet.2011.01.016 · Cited by 115
Microbial activity in the marine deep biosphere: progress and prospects
Orcutt, B. N., LaRowe, D. E., Biddle, J. F., Colwell, F. S., Glazer, B. T., Reese, B. K., Kirkpatrick, J. B., Lapham, L., Mills, H. J., Sylvan, J. B., et al. (2013) · Frontiers in Microbiology · doi:10.3389/fmicb.2013.00189 · Cited by 122
Integrating biogeochemistry with multiomic sequence information in a model oxygen minimum zone
Louca, S., Hawley, A. K., Katsev, S., Torres-Beltrán, M., Bhatia, M. P., Kheirandish, S., Michiels, C., Capelle, D. W., Lavik, G., Doebeli, M., et al. (2016) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1602897113 · Cited by 116
“(54) for marine prokaryotic heterotrophs above 200 m; to qamo = 0.”
BackgroundSipkema, D., Schippers, K. J., Maalcke, W. J., Yang, Y., Salim, S., & Blanch, H. W. (2011) · Applied and Environmental Microbiology · doi:10.1128/aem.01203-10 · Cited by 115
“The doubling time of many microorganisms in nature is on the order of 100 days (47), which is much longer than most reported cultivation experiments.”
BackgroundHandley, K. M., VerBerkmoes, N. C., Steefel, C. I., Williams, K. H., Sharon, I., Miller, C. S., Frischkorn, K. R., Chourey, K., Thomas, B. C., Shah, M. B., et al. (2012) · The ISME Journal · doi:10.1038/ismej.2012.148 · Cited by 114
“Sediments host a substantial proportion of the environmental bacterial and archaeal biomass, with an estimated 6–40% of the prokaryotic biomass inhabiting the terrestrial subsurface, and an estimated total carbon content rivaling that of the global plant biomass (Whitman et al., 1998).”
BackgroundGasc, C., Peyretaillade, É., & Peyret, P. (2016) · Nucleic Acids Research · doi:10.1093/nar/gkw309 · Cited by 119
“Microbial communities present enormous biological and functional diversity that is crucial for the function of ecosystems (151,152).”
BackgroundBraun, A., Spona-Friedl, M., Avramov, M., Elsner, M., Baltar, F., Reinthaler, T., Herndl, G. J., & Griebler, C. (2021) · Biogeosciences · doi:10.5194/bg-18-3689-2021 · Cited by 121
“The uncertainties of the estimates of heterotrophic biomass of the terrestrial subsurface, however, are high (Whitman et al., 1998; McMahon and Parnell, 2014; Bar-On et al., 2018).”
BackgroundThe global ocean size spectrum from bacteria to whales
Hatton, I. A., Heneghan, R., Bar‐On, Y. M., & Galbraith, E. D. (2021) · Science Advances · doi:10.1126/sciadv.abh3732 · Cited by 110
Microbial Lithotrophic Oxidation of Structural Fe(II) in Biotite
Shelobolina, E. S., Xu, H., Konishi, H., et al. (2012) · Applied and Environmental Microbiology · doi:10.1128/aem.01034-12 · Cited by 114
“Microbial populations below the Earth’s surface constitute a substantial portion of the Earth biosphere (36) and could potentially exert a significant influence on global geochemistry, including the weathering of primary minerals in the Earth’s crust.”
BackgroundPathogenic archaea: do they exist?
Cavicchioli, R., Curmi, P. M. G., Saunders, N. F. W., & Thomas, T. (2003) · BioEssays · doi:10.1002/bies.10354 · Cited by 114
Diversity of Thermophilic Anaerobes
Wagner, I. D., & Wiegel, J. (2008) · Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1196/annals.1419.029 · Cited by 114
Exploring Microbial Diversity Using 16S rRNA High-Throughput Methods
Armougom, F. (2009) · Journal of Computer Science & Systems Biology · doi:10.4172/jcsb.1000019 · Cited by 124
“…vast majority of global microbial diversity was inaccessible or largely underestimated by culture-dependent methods, since the cultivated fraction of the 4-6x10 31 prokaryotic genomes moving around the biosphere (Whitman et al., 1998) is currently estimated to be 1% (Giovannoni and Stingl, 2005).”
BackgroundCarmichael, M. J., Carmichael, S. K., Santelli, C. M., et al. (2013) · Geomicrobiology Journal · doi:10.1080/01490451.2013.769651 · Cited by 114
“In general, a high degree of diversity within systems is supported by microbial metabolic versatility (Whitman et al. 1998) and the development of mutualistic associations in biofilm communities leading to the interdependency of organisms within the community (Fierer and Lennon 2011).”
BackgroundWebster, G., Parkes, R. J., Fry, J. C., & Weightman, A. J. (2004) · Applied and Environmental Microbiology · doi:10.1128/aem.70.9.5708-5713.2004 · Cited by 112
“The observed small sequence divergence for the JS1 division may reflect a closely related group of slow-growing bacterial taxa (35) that have evolved under strong selection pressures imposed by the subsurface habitat.”
BackgroundA BIOMASS-BASED MODEL TO ESTIMATE THE PLAUSIBILITY OF EXOPLANET BIOSIGNATURE GASES
Seager, S., Bains, W., & Hu, R. (2013) · The Astrophysical Journal · doi:10.1088/0004-637x/775/2/104 · Cited by 108
“Closing with a total biomass on Earth estimate, the total amount of carbon on Earth as in cellular carbon in prokaryotes is estimated as 3.5–5.5 × 1014 kg (Whitman et al. 1998; Lipp et al. 2008).”
MethodInfluentialMetagenomics of microbial life in extreme temperature environments
Lewin, A. S., Wentzel, A., & Valla, S. (2012) · Current Opinion in Biotechnology · doi:10.1016/j.copbio.2012.10.012 · Cited by 112
Gao, L., & Gu, J. (2021) · International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation · doi:10.1016/j.ibiod.2021.105253 · Cited by 116
Do Honeybees Shape the Bacterial Community Composition in Floral Nectar?
Aizenberg-Gershtein, Y., Izhaki, I., & Halpern, M. (2013) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0067556 · Cited by 113
“Microorganisms represent the ‘‘unseen majority’’ of species, individuals and biomass in many ecosystems, hence may also play key roles in community and ecosystem function [14,15].”
BackgroundPlatinum in Earth surface environments
Reith, F., Campbell, S., Ball, A. S., Pring, A., & Southam, G. (2014) · Earth-Science Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2014.01.003 · Cited by 113
Variable Stoichiometry and Homeostatic Regulation of Bacterial Biomass Elemental Composition
Scott, J. T., Cotner, J. B., & LaPara, T. M. (2012) · Frontiers in Microbiology · doi:10.3389/fmicb.2012.00042 · Cited by 112
“, 2007), and that a large proportion of biomass in all ecosystems is comprised of heterotrophic bacteria (Whitman et al., 1998; Biddanda et al., 2001), our study suggests that these feedbacks may constitute a major control on the global C cycle.”
BackgroundMincer, T. J., Zettler, E., & Amaral‐Zettler, L. (2016) · The handbook of environmental chemistry · doi:10.1007/698_2016_12 · Cited by 111
Kumari, M., & Kozyrskyj, A. L. (2016) · Obesity Reviews · doi:10.1111/obr.12484 · Cited by 111
“Yet endemic to our large intestine is an extremely dense population of >100 trillion microbes (1).”
BackgroundParasite avoidance behaviours in aquatic environments
Behringer, D. C., Karvonen, A., & Bojko, J. (2018) · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rstb.2017.0202 · Cited by 110
Bacteriophages in Food Applications: From Foe to Friend
O’Sullivan, L., Bolton, D., McAuliffe, O. E., et al. (2019) · Annual Review of Food Science and Technology · doi:10.1146/annurev-food-032818-121747 · Cited by 112
The mucosal firewalls against commensal intestinal microbes
Macpherson, A. J., Slack, E. M. C., Geuking, M. B., & McCoy, K. D. (2009) · Seminars in Immunopathology · doi:10.1007/s00281-009-0174-3 · Cited by 118
“intestinal contents. This density is considerably higher than found in most other microbiological populations, including soils and subsurfaces [ 1 ].”
BackgroundMicrobial minorities modulate methane consumption through niche partitioning
Bodelier, P. L. E., Meima‐Franke, M., Hordijk, C. A., Steenbergh, A. K., Hefting, M. M., Bodrossy, L., von Bergen�, M., & Seifert, J. (2013) · The ISME Journal · doi:10.1038/ismej.2013.99 · Cited by 113
“…microorganisms (i.e., bacteria, archaea, protozoa, fungi and algae), comprising a major part of the total biomass of organisms inhabiting earth (Whitman et al., 1998) and representing the largest source of biodiversity (Gans et al., 2005), are absent in the ongoing BEF debates and conservation…”
BackgroundMultifunctionality and Diversity in Bacterial Biofilms
Peter, H., Ylla, I., Gudasz, C., Romaní, A. M., Sabater, S., & Tranvik, L. J. (2011) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0023225 · Cited by 112
“Microbes encompass the highest diversity of all life forms on Earth [6,7] and they drive a bulk of ecosystem functions.”
BackgroundNostrand, J. D. V., Wu, W., Wu, L., et al. (2009) · Environmental Microbiology · doi:10.1111/j.1462-2920.2009.01986.x · Cited by 111
“However, one of the major challenges in examining microbial communities is that only an estimated 1% of all microbes are cultivated (Whitman et al., 1998).”
BackgroundSangal, V., Goodfellow, M., Jones, A. L., Schwalbe, E. C., Blom, J., Hoskisson, P. A., & Sutcliffe, I. C. (2016) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/srep38392 · Cited by 111
Restoration of dysbiotic human gut microbiome for homeostasis
Dixit, K. K., Chaudhari, D. S., Dhotre, D. P., Shouche, Y. S., & Saroj, S. D. (2021) · Life Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.lfs.2021.119622 · Cited by 116
Molecular approaches: advantages and artifacts in assessing bacterial diversity
Pontes, D. S., Lima-Bittencourt, C. I., Chartone‐Souza, E., & Nascimento, A. M. A. (2007) · Journal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology · doi:10.1007/s10295-007-0219-3 · Cited by 111
“Currently, it is estimated that there are about 4–6 £ 10(30) diVerent prokaryotic cells, exceeding, by various orders of magnitude, all plant and animal diversity [124].”
BackgroundIdentifying microorganisms responsible for ecologically significant biogeochemical processes
Madsen, E. L. (2005) · Nature Reviews Microbiology · doi:10.1038/nrmicro1151 · Cited by 111
“Microorganisms are the primary agents of geochemical change, and the global biomass of prokaryotes is approximately equal to that of all other (eukaryotic) life form”
BackgroundGeomicrobiology of deep, low organic carbon sediments in the Woodlark Basin, Pacific Ocean
Wellsbury, P., Mather, I. D., & Parkes, R. J. (2002) · FEMS Microbiology Ecology · doi:10.1111/j.1574-6941.2002.tb00995.x · Cited by 114
“Deep marine sediments have been estimated to contain a bacterial biomass equivalent to V10% of living carbon in the surface biosphere [1] and possibly much more [2,3].”
Dale, A. W., Regnier, P. A. G., & Cappellen, P. V. (2006) · American Journal of Science · doi:10.2475/ajs.306.4.246 · Cited by 111
Factors Affecting the Performance of Single-Chamber Soil Microbial Fuel Cells for Power Generation
Deng, H., Yi-Cheng, W. U., Zhang, F., HUANG, Z.-C., Zheng, C. H. E. N., Xu, H., & Zhao, F. (2014) · Pedosphere · doi:10.1016/s1002-0160(14)60019-9 · Cited by 112
“Soil generally has a bacterial population of approximately 109 cells g−1 (Whitman et al., 1998) and organic matter content of within 100 mg g−1 (Bot and Benites, 2005), in spite of the variation between different soil types, e.g., in organic soil, the abundance of bacteria and organic matter can be…”
BackgroundMicroorganisms persist at record depths in the subseafloor of the Canterbury Basin
Ciobanu, M., Burgaud, G., Dufresne, A., Breuker, A., Rédou, V., Maamar, S. B., Gaboyer, F., Vandenabeele‐Trambouze, O., Lipp, J. S., Schippers, A., et al. (2014) · The ISME Journal · doi:10.1038/ismej.2013.250 · Cited by 110
“Considering these levels of contamination, mean cell counts of 5 10(5) cellsml in surface waters in the ocean (Whitman et al., 1998) and average densities of 1.”
BackgroundInfluentialGat, D., Tsesarsky, M., Shamir, D., & Ronen, Z. (2014) · Biogeosciences · doi:10.5194/bg-11-2561-2014 · Cited by 114
“Prokaryotes comprise the major part of the biomass in all major soil types, with an estimated average of 2.2·108 cells per cm3 of soil in the top 10 m (Whitman et al., 1998).”
BackgroundInfluentialEvidence of biological activity in Hawaiian subsurface basalts
Fisk, M. R., Storrie‐Lombardi, M. C., Douglas, S., Popa, R., McDonald, G. D., & Meo-Savoie, C. A. D. (2003) · Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems · doi:10.1029/2002gc000387 · Cited by 110
“[2] Microorganisms in subsurface environments may comprise a significant fraction of the Earth’s biomass with estimates varying from 5% to 50% [Parkes et al., 1994; Gold, 1992; Whitman et al., 1998].”
Miteva, V. I., Teacher, C. E., Sowers, T., & Brenchley, J. E. (2008) · Environmental Microbiology · doi:10.1111/j.1462-2920.2008.01835.x · Cited by 110
“The aerial dispersal of dust across the globe is estimated to be 2.2 ¥ 109 tons per year (Goudie and Middleton, 2001) with 1 g of soil containing approximately 1 ¥ 109 cells (Whitman et al., 1998).”
BackgroundInfluentialCultivating the uncultivated: a community genomics perspective
Tyson, G. W., & Banfield, J. F. (2005) · Trends in Microbiology · doi:10.1016/j.tim.2005.07.003 · Cited by 111
In situ monitoring of antibiotic susceptibility of bacterial biofilms in a microfluidic device
Kim, K. P., Kim, Y., Choi, C., et al. (2010) · Lab on a Chip · doi:10.1039/c0lc00154f · Cited by 110
Zhang, X., Tang, G.-L., Xu, X., Nong, X., & Qi, S. (2014) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0109118 · Cited by 109
“[2] reported that deep-sea-derived microbial communities, mainly composed of bacteria and archaea, accounted for a total cellular carbon content of approximately 3610(17) g.”
BackgroundFOCUS: an alignment-free model to identify organisms in metagenomes using non-negative least squares
Silva, G. G. Z., Cuevas, D., Dutilh, B. E., & Edwards, R. A. (2014) · PeerJ · doi:10.7717/peerj.425 · Cited by 106
Buried Alive: Microbes from Ancient Halite
Jaakkola, S., Ravantti, J., Oksanen, H. M., & Bamford, D. H. (2016) · Trends in Microbiology · doi:10.1016/j.tim.2015.12.002 · Cited by 109
A multidimensional perspective on microbial interactions
Pacheco, A. R., & Segrè, D. (2019) · FEMS Microbiology Letters · doi:10.1093/femsle/fnz125 · Cited by 108
Cell/Bacteria‐Based Bioactive Materials for Cancer Immune Modulation and Precision Therapy
Pan, H., Zheng, M., Ma, A.-Q., Liu, L., & Cai, L. (2021) · Advanced Materials · doi:10.1002/adma.202100241 · Cited by 109
Real-time analysis of gut flora in Entamoeba histolytica infected patients of Northern India
Verma, A. K., Verma, R. P., Ahuja, V., & Paul, J. (2012) · BMC Microbiology · doi:10.1186/1471-2180-12-183 · Cited by 105
“The vast majority reside in our colon where densities approach 10(11) - 10(12) cells/ml, the highest density recorded for any microbial habitat [3].”
BackgroundKatz, B. G., Griffin, D. W., & Davis, J. H. (2009) · The Science of The Total Environment · doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2009.01.022 · Cited by 114
“…a barrier to the subsurface environment is the 10 million to 1 billion bacterial cells composed of approximately 10 thousand bacterial types found in the average gram of soil located in the top few centimeters of most surface environments (Whitman et al., 1998, Torsvik et al., 2002).”
BackgroundThe Role of Microbiota on the Gut Immunology
Min, Y. W., & Rhee, P. (2015) · Clinical Therapeutics · doi:10.1016/j.clinthera.2015.03.009 · Cited by 124
“] 2015 10(11) to 10(12) cells/mL.(1,2) The gut microbiota plays an important role in health and disease in humans.”
BackgroundNatural attenuation: What does the subsurface have in store?
Röling, W. F. M., & van Verseveld, H. W. (2002) · Biodegradation · doi:10.1023/a:1016310519957 · Cited by 109
“01 h−1 (Whitman et al. 1998), the amount of rRNA is merely indicative of presence, but not activity.”
BackgroundInfluentialAdvancements toward a systems level understanding of the human oral microbiome
McLean, J. S. (2014) · Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology · doi:10.3389/fcimb.2014.00098 · Cited by 108
Niches of the pre‐photosynthetic biosphere and geologic preservation of Earth's earliest ecology
SLEEP, N. H., & BIRD, D. K. (2007) · Geobiology · doi:10.1111/j.1472-4669.2007.00105.x · Cited by 117
“Evidence for an extensive subsurface biosphere within modern (Gold, 1992; Pedersen, 1993; Fyfe, 1996; Whitman et al ., 1998; Krumholz, 2000; Takai et al ., 2004b) and early (Canfield, 2006; Ueno et al ., 2006) Earth suggests that the upper crust, to depths exceeding several kilometers or more, is a…”
BackgroundRomick‐Rosendale, L. E., Goodpaster, A. M., Hanwright, P. J., Patel, N. B., Wheeler, E. T., Chona, D. L., & Kennedy, M. A. (2009) · Magnetic Resonance in Chemistry · doi:10.1002/mrc.2511 · Cited by 107
Garel, M., Bonin, P., Martini, S., Guasco, S., Roumagnac, M., Bhairy, N., Armougom, F., & Tamburini, C. (2019) · Frontiers in Microbiology · doi:10.3389/fmicb.2019.00453 · Cited by 108
“Despite the deep sea, being the largest ecosystem of the ocean (mean depth of about 3,500m, i.e., 35 MPa), with the greatest reservoir of microbes (Whitman et al., 1998), it still hasn’t been sampled or studied adequately under in situ conditions.”
BackgroundCommunity-level respiration of prokaryotic microbes may rise with global warming
Smith, T., Thomas, T. J. H., García‐Carreras, B., Sal, S., Yvon‐Durocher, G., Bell, T., & Pawar, S. S. (2019) · Nature Communications · doi:10.1038/s41467-019-13109-1 · Cited by 106
Aerobic microbial life persists in oxic marine sediment as old as 101.5 million years
Morono, Y., Ito, M., Hoshino, T., Terada, T., Hori, T., Ikehara, M., D'Hondt, S. L., & Inagaki, F. (2020) · Nature Communications · doi:10.1038/s41467-020-17330-1 · Cited by 107
Seager, S., Petkowski, J. J., Gao, P., Bains, W., Bryan, N. C., Ranjan, S., & Greaves, J. (2020) · Astrobiology · doi:10.1089/ast.2020.2244 · Cited by 108
“For the context, Earth is estimated to have more than 10 30 free-living single-celled microbes (Whitman et al. , 1998; Bar-On et al. , 2018), with a rough estimate of 10 24 total cells in Earth’s aerial biosphere (Bryan et al. , 2019).”
Waldron, P. J., Petsch, S. T., Martini, A. M., & Nüsslein, K. R. (2007) · Applied and Environmental Microbiology · doi:10.1128/aem.01459-07 · Cited by 108
“Subsurface sedimentary environments contain an estimated 1/10 to 1/3 of all living biomass on Earth, and the activity of subsurface microorganisms plays an important role in biogeochemical cycling of elements and the global carbon cycle (38, 51, 57).”
More, smaller bacteria in response to ocean's warming?
Morán, X. A. G., Alonso‐Sáez, L., Nogueira, E., Ducklow, H. W., González, N., López‐Urrutia, Á., Díaz‐Pérez, L., Calvo‐Díaz, A., Arandia‐Gorostidi, N., & Huete‐Stauffer, T. M. (2015) · Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rspb.2015.0371 · Cited by 110
Shi, Z. J., Yin, H., Nostrand, J. D. V., Voordeckers, J. W., Tu, Q., Deng, Y., Yuan, M., Zhou, A., Zhang, P., Xiao, N., et al. (2019) · mSystems · doi:10.1128/msystems.00296-19 · Cited by 107
Wright, G. D. (2010) · Expert Opinion on Drug Discovery · doi:10.1517/17460441.2010.497535 · Cited by 117
“There are an estimated 5 10(30) prokaryotes across the globe [25] and only a very small fraction is associated with human disease.”
BackgroundKing, G. M. (2010) · Trends in Microbiology · doi:10.1016/j.tim.2010.11.006 · Cited by 109
Parkes, R. J., Sellek, G. A., Webster, G., Martin, D., Anders, E., Weightman, A. J., & Sass, H. (2009) · Environmental Microbiology · doi:10.1111/j.1462-2920.2009.02018.x · Cited by 107
“90% (Whitman et al., 1998), with the dominant habitat being marine sediments (Parkes et al.”
BackgroundResultInfluentialMeynet, P., Hale, S. E., Davenport, R. J., et al. (2012) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/es2043905 · Cited by 107
Klaassens, E. S., Boesten, R. J., Haarman, M., Knol, J., Schuren, F. H. J., Vaughan, E. E., & de Vos, W. M. (2009) · Applied and Environmental Microbiology · doi:10.1128/aem.02492-08 · Cited by 107
“The vast majority reside in the colon, where densities approach 10(11) to 10(12) cells per gram, the highest recorded for any microbial habitat (66).”
Background
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
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
