Speciation is the ultimate source of biodiversity, yet because most species arise in spatial isolation (allopatry), it remains unclear how speciation history shapes patterns of sympatric species richness. Here, we examine how the timing of past speciation events influences the maximum sympatric species richness attained across 40 families of passerine birds. Using a phylogenetic model, we infer that the average waiting time fo...

N 2 O emissions by nitrifiers are often estimated using selective inhibitors, such as 1‐alkynes. However, the effects of these inhibitors on anaerobic ammonium‐oxidising (anammox) bacteria are largely unknown. In this study, we assessed the inhibitory effect of linear and aromatic alkynes on anammox activity and identified their target enzyme. ‘ Candidatus Kuenenia stuttgartiensis’ biomass and constructed wetland soil samples...

Northern peatlands, ecosystems which store enormous amounts of carbon, and yet are major sources of methane and plant‐derived volatiles including isoprene, are predicted to be greatly affected by climate change. Isoprene, the major volatile secondary metabolite released by plants, can support the carbon and energy needs of a variety of bacteria. Here we show that Sphagnum moss from an acidic bog harboured highly active isopren...

Ammonia‐oxidising archaea (AOA) are important microorganisms contributing towards the nitrogen flux in the environment. Unlike archaea from other major phyla, genetic tools are yet to be developed for the AOA, and identification of antibiotic resistance markers for selecting mutants is required for a genetic system. The aim of this study was to test the effects of selected antibiotics (hygromycin B, neomycin, apramycin, puromy...

In genetically heterogeneous (UM-HET3) mice produced by the CByB6F1 × C3D2F1 cross, the Nrf2 activator astaxanthin (Asta) extended the median male lifespan by 12% ( p = 0.003, log-rank test), while meclizine (Mec), an mTORC1 inhibitor, extended the male lifespan by 8% ( p = 0.03). Asta was fed at 1840 ± 520 (9) ppm and Mec at 544 ± 48 (9) ppm, stated as mean ± SE ( n ) of independent diet preparations. Both were started at 12...

Aim The exceptional turnover in biota with elevation and number of species coexisting at any elevation makes tropical mountains hotspots of biodiversity. However, understanding the historical processes through which species arising in geographical isolation (i.e. allopatry) assemble along the same mountain slope (i.e. sympatry) remains a major challenge. Multiple models have been proposed including (1) the sorting of already e...

Global biodiversity is facing a crisis, which must be solved through effective policies and on‐the‐ground conservation. But governments, NGOs, and scientists need reliable indicators to guide research, conservation actions, and policy decisions. Developing reliable indicators is challenging because the data underlying those tools is incomplete and biased. For example, the Living Planet Index tracks the changing status of globa...

The activities of bacterioplankton sustain open ocean biogeochemical and ecological processes, however, little is known about the activity of specific bacterioplankton, especially related to their biogeography across oceanic scales. The Atlantic is the second largest of the world’s oceans and has an essential role in the global carbon cycle. Here, we show congruence in the structure of 16S rRNA and 16S rRNA gene derived bacter...

The ammonia monooxygenase (AMO) is a key enzyme in ammonia‐oxidizing archaea, which are abundant and ubiquitous in soil environments. The AMO belongs to the copper‐containing membrane monooxygenase (CuMMO) enzyme superfamily, which also contains particulate methane monooxygenase (pMMO). Enzymes in the CuMMO superfamily are promiscuous, which results in co‐oxidation of alternative substrates. The phylogenetic and structural sim...

Isoprene (2‐methyl‐1,3‐butadiene) is emitted to the atmosphere each year in sufficient quantities to rival methane (>500 Tg C yr −1 ), primarily due to emission by trees and other plants. Chemical reactions of isoprene with other atmospheric compounds, such as hydroxyl radicals and inorganic nitrogen species (NO x ), have implications for global warming and local air quality, respectively. For many years, it has been estimated...

Bacteria that inhabit soils and the leaves of trees partially mitigate the release of the abundant volatile organic compound, isoprene (2‐methyl‐1,3‐butadiene). While the initial steps of isoprene metabolism were identified in Rhodococcus sp. AD45 two decades ago, the isoprene metabolic pathway still remains largely undefined. Limited understanding of the functions of isoG , isoJ and aldH and uncertainty in the route of isopre...

Summary The Zoige wetland of the Tibetan Plateau is one of the largest alpine wetlands in the world and a major emission source of methane. Methane oxidation by methanotrophs can counteract the global warming effect of methane released in the wetlands. Understanding methanotroph activity, diversity and metabolism at the molecular level can guide the isolation of the uncultured microorganisms and inform strategy‐making decision...

Understanding how multiple co‐occurring environmental stressors combine to affect biodiversity and ecosystem services is an on‐going grand challenge for ecology. Currently, progress has been made through accumulating large numbers of smaller‐scale empirical studies that are then investigated by meta‐analyses to detect general patterns. There is particular interest in detecting, understanding and predicting ‘ecological surprise...

Priority effects can play a fundamental role in the assembly of ecological communities, but how they shape the dynamics of biodiversity over macroevolutionary timescales remains unclear. Here we develop and analyse a metacommunity model combining local priority effects with niche evolution, speciation and extinction. We show that by promoting the persistence of rare species, local priority effects cause the evolution of higher...

Aim Morphological and lineage evolution are predicted to follow different patterns in island and mainland radiations. However, the extent to which these geographical contexts influence evolutionary trajectories remains poorly understood, in part because few studies have focused on species‐rich clades colonizing continents and archipelagos over comparable timeframes. Focusing on a diverse songbird clade radiating on the African...

Summary The release of abiotic methane from marine seeps into the atmosphere is a major source of this potent greenhouse gas. Methanotrophic microorganisms in methane seeps use methane as carbon and energy source, thus significantly mitigating global methane emissions. Here, we investigated microbial methane oxidation at the sediment–water interface of a shallow marine methane seep. Metagenomics and metaproteomics, combined wi...

Summary Approximately one‐third of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted to the atmosphere consists of isoprene, originating from the terrestrial and marine biosphere, with a profound effect on atmospheric chemistry. However, isoprene provides an abundant and largely unexplored source of carbon and energy for microbes. The potential for isoprene degradation in marine and estuarine samples from the Colne Estuary, UK, was in...

Summary Nitrogen is a key limiting resource for biomass production in the marine environment. Methylated amines, released from the degradation of osmolytes, could provide a nitrogen source for marine microbes. Thus far, studies in aquatic habitats on the utilization of methylamine, the simplest methylated amine, have mainly focussed on the fate of the carbon from this compound. Various groups of methylotrophs, microorganisms t...

Summary The volatile organosulfur compound, dimethylsulfide (DMS), plays an important role in climate regulation and global sulfur biogeochemical cycles. Microbial oxidation of DMS to dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) represents a major sink of DMS in surface seawater, yet the underlying molecular mechanisms and key microbial taxa involved are not known. Here, we reveal that Ruegeria pomeroyi , a model marine heterotrophic bacterium, c...

Summary Emissions of biogenic volatile organic compounds (bVOCs), are an important element in the global carbon cycle, accounting for a significant proportion of fixed carbon. They contribute directly and indirectly to global warming and climate change and have a major effect on atmospheric chemistry. Plants emit isoprene to the atmosphere in similar quantities to emissions of methane from all sources and each accounts for app...

Summary Choline is ubiquitous in marine eukaryotes and appears to be widely distributed in surface marine waters; however, its metabolism by marine bacteria is poorly understood. Here, using comparative genomics and molecular genetic approaches, we reveal that the capacity for choline catabolism is widespread in marine heterotrophs of the marine Roseobacter clade ( MRC ). Using the model bacterium R uegeria pomeroyi , we confi...

Summary The xox F gene, encoding a pyrroloquinoline quinone‐dependent methanol dehydrogenase, is found in all known proteobacterial methylotrophs. In several newly discovered methylotrophs, XoxF is the active methanol dehydrogenase, catalysing the oxidation of methanol to formaldehyde. Apart from that, its potential role in methylotrophy and carbon cycling is unknown. So far, the diversity of xox F in the environment has recei...