ArticleMicrobiome2021
The allometry of cellular DNA and ribosomal gene content among microbes and its use for the assessment of microbiome community structure.
Article in Microbiome, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 14 citations in OpenAlex.
- The natural history of a biocrust architect, the cyanobacterium Microcoleus vaginatus.FEMS microbiology reviews · 2026Review
- Nimble vs. torpid responders to hydration pulse duration among soil microbes.Communications biology · 2024Article
- Genomic copy number variability at the genus, species and population levels impacts in situ ecological analyses of dinoflagellates and harmful algal blooms.ISME communications · 2023Article
- Allometric scaling of interspecific RNA transcript abundance to extend the use of metatranscriptomics in characterizing complex communities.Molecular ecology resources · 2023Article
- Discrepancies between prokaryotes and eukaryotes need to be considered in soil DNA-based studies.Environmental microbiology · 2022Review
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Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe determination of taxon-specific composition of microbiomes by combining high-throughput sequencing of ribosomal genes with phyloinformatic analyses has become routine in microbiology and allied sciences. Systematic biases to this approach based on the demonstrable variability of ribosomal operon copy number per genome were recognized early. The more recent realization that polyploidy is probably the norm, rather than the exception, among microbes from all domains of life, points to an even larger source bias.
resultsWe found that the number of 16S or 18S RNA genes per cell, a combined result of the number of RNA gene loci per genome and ploidy level, follows an allometric power law of cell volume with an exponent of 2/3 across 6 orders of magnitude in small subunit copy number per cell and 9 orders of magnitude in cell size. This stands in contrast to cell DNA content, which follows a power law with an exponent of ¾.
conclusionIn practical terms, that relationship allows for a single, simple correction for variations in both copy number per genome and ploidy level in ribosomal gene analyses of taxa-specific abundance. In biological terms, it points to the uniqueness of ribosomal gene content among microbial properties that scale with size. Video Abstract.
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