欧洲分子生物学实验室Peer Bork小组近日取得一项新成果。经过不懈努力，他们的最新研究提出了行星微生物组结构与广适性物种驱动的异质生境间基因流动。相关论文发表在2026年2月9日出版的《细胞》杂志上。
为了研究行星微生物组的结构、功能和生境间的相互作用，研究人员系统地整合了全球不同生境的85604个公共宏基因组。采用基于物种的无监督分类和参数建模方法，划分了40个生境分类，并对其生态相似性进行了量化。他们的框架确定了塑造微生物群结构的关键驱动因素，如海洋温度和宿主的生活方式。无论生物地理位置如何，微生物组主要由宿主相关或环境条件构建，也反映在从2065975个基因组推断的基因组和功能特征中。广适性物种作为载体不仅能在生态差异显著的生境类型中繁衍生息，还促进了基因跨生境流动——以广适性物种介导的抗生素抗性基因岛从人类肠道和废水向环境生境的水平转移为例，这一过程进一步印证了人类活动对行星微生物组的影响。
据介绍，微生物在地球上无处不在，形成维持宏观生命和生物地球化学循环的微生物群。在自然过程和人类活动的驱动下，微生物的扩散将不同栖息地的微生物群相互联系起来，但大多数比较研究都集中在特定的生态系统上。
附：英文原文
Title: Planetary microbiome structure and generalist-driven gene flow across disparate habitats
Author: Chan Yeong Kim, Daniel Podlesny, Jonas Schiller, Supriya Khedkar, Anthony Fullam, Askarbek Orakov, Christian Schudoma, Shahriyar Mahdi Robbani, Anastasiia Grekova, Michael Kuhn, Peer Bork
Issue&Volume: 2026-02-09
Abstract: Microbes are ubiquitous on Earth, forming microbiomes that sustain macroscopic life and biogeochemical cycles. Microbial dispersal, driven by natural processes and human activities, interconnects microbiomes across habitats, yet most comparative studies focus on specific ecosystems. To study planetary microbiome structure, function, and inter-habitat interactions, we systematically integrated 85,604 public metagenomes spanning diverse habitats worldwide. Using species-based unsupervised clustering and parameter modeling, we delineated 40 habitat clusters and quantified their ecological similarity. Our framework identified key drivers shaping microbiome structure, such as ocean temperature and host lifestyle. Regardless of biogeography, microbiomes were structured primarily by host-associated or environmental conditions, also reflected in genomic and functional traits inferred from 2,065,975 genomes. Generalists emerged as vehicles thriving and facilitating gene flow across ecologically disparate habitat types, illustrated by generalist-mediated horizontal transfer of an antibiotic resistance island across human gut and wastewater, further dispersing to environmental habitats, exemplifying human impact on the planetary microbiome.
DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2025.12.051
Source: https://www.cell.com/cell/abstract/S0092-8674(25)01500-4