A comparison between functional frequency and metabolic flows framed by biogeochemical cycles in metagenomes: The case of “El Coquito” hot spring located at Colombia's national Nevados park

The study of metagenomic samples is crucial for understanding microbial communities in ecosystems. In this study, genomic samples of the “El Coquito” acidic hot spring, located at the Nevados Natural National Park in Colombia, were analysed to evaluate the relationship between its metabolic functionality, and metabolic flows distribution considering the thermodynamic restrictions and the biogeochemical cycles through a flux balance analysis. The metabolic functionality of the metagenome was established by assigning reactions and enzymes to the metabolic routes. On one hand, we found that relevant metabolic groups contribute in a different fashion depending on the objective function of the ecosystem from the amount of metabolic reactions perspective. On the other hand, from the contribution to the total metabolic flow point of view, it seems the metabolic distribution plasticity conserves, as there exists several common groups that significantly contribute to the total metabolic flux of the system. Nevertheless, this plasticity is not maintained for all objective functions due to the differences between the nitrogen and the rest of the cycles, clearly demonstrating that the microbial adaptation capability to the ecosystem is materialized in the distribution of the metabolic flows instead of the frequency of appearance of the same reactions.