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Arce-Rodríguez A, Puente-Sánchez F, Avendaño R, Libby E, Mora-Amador R, Rojas-Jimenez K, Martínez M, Pieper DH, Chavarría M. Microbial Community Structure Along a Horizontal Oxygen Gradient in a Costa Rican Volcanic Influenced Acid Rock Drainage System. MICROBIAL ECOLOGY 2020; 80:793-808. [PMID: 32572534 DOI: 10.1007/s00248-020-01530-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2019] [Accepted: 05/17/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
We describe the geochemistry and microbial diversity of a pristine environment that resembles an acid rock drainage (ARD) but it is actually the result of hydrothermal and volcanic influences. We designate this environment, and other comparable sites, as volcanic influenced acid rock drainage (VARD) systems. The metal content and sulfuric acid in this ecosystem stem from the volcanic milieu and not from the product of pyrite oxidation. Based on the analysis of 16S rRNA gene amplicons, we report the microbial community structure in the pristine San Cayetano Costa Rican VARD environment (pH = 2.94-3.06, sulfate ~ 0.87-1.19 g L-1, iron ~ 35-61 mg L-1 (waters), and ~ 8-293 g kg-1 (sediments)). San Cayetano was found to be dominated by microorganisms involved in the geochemical cycling of iron, sulfur, and nitrogen; however, the identity and abundance of the species changed with the oxygen content (0.40-6.06 mg L-1) along the river course. The hypoxic source of San Cayetano is dominated by a putative anaerobic sulfate-reducing Deltaproteobacterium. Sulfur-oxidizing bacteria such as Acidithiobacillus or Sulfobacillus are found in smaller proportions with respect to typical ARD. In the oxic downstream, we identified aerobic iron-oxidizers (Leptospirillum, Acidithrix, Ferrovum) and heterotrophic bacteria (Burkholderiaceae bacterium, Trichococcus, Acidocella). Thermoplasmatales archaea closely related to environmental phylotypes found in other ARD niches were also observed throughout the entire ecosystem. Overall, our study shows the differences and similarities in the diversity and distribution of the microbial communities between an ARD and a VARD system at the source and along the oxygen gradient that establishes on the course of the river.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alejandro Arce-Rodríguez
- Microbial Interactions and Processes Research Group, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, 38124, Braunschweig, Germany
- Department of Molecular Bacteriology, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, 38124, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Fernando Puente-Sánchez
- Systems Biology Program, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CNB-CSIC), C/Darwin 3, 28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - Roberto Avendaño
- Centro Nacional de Innovaciones Biotecnológicas (CENIBiot), CeNAT-CONARE, San José, 1174-1200, Costa Rica
| | - Eduardo Libby
- Escuela de Química, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, 11501-2060, Costa Rica
| | - Raúl Mora-Amador
- Escuela Centroamericana de Geología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, 11501-2060, Costa Rica
- Laboratorio de Ecología Urbana, Universidad Estatal a Distancia, San José, 11501-2060, Costa Rica
| | - Keilor Rojas-Jimenez
- Escuela de Biología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, 11501-2060, Costa Rica
| | - María Martínez
- Observatorio Vulcanológico y Sismológico de Costa Rica, Universidad Nacional (OVSICORI-UNA), Heredia, 2386-3000, Costa Rica
| | - Dietmar H Pieper
- Microbial Interactions and Processes Research Group, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, 38124, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Max Chavarría
- Centro Nacional de Innovaciones Biotecnológicas (CENIBiot), CeNAT-CONARE, San José, 1174-1200, Costa Rica.
- Escuela de Química, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, 11501-2060, Costa Rica.
- Centro de Investigaciones en Productos Naturales (CIPRONA), Universidad de Costa Rica, Sede Central, San Pedro de Montes de Oca, San José, 11501-2060, Costa Rica.
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Hynek BM, Rogers KL, Antunovich M, Avard G, Alvarado GE. Lack of Microbial Diversity in an Extreme Mars Analog Setting: Poás Volcano, Costa Rica. ASTROBIOLOGY 2018; 18:923-933. [PMID: 29688767 PMCID: PMC6067093 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2017.1719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
The Poás volcano in Costa Rica has been studied as a Mars geochemical analog environment, since both the style of hydrothermal alteration present and the alteration mineralogy are consistent with Mars' relict hydrothermal systems. The site hosts an active volcano, with high-temperature fumaroles (up to 980°C) and an ultra-acidic lake. This lake, Laguna Caliente, is one of the most dynamic environments on Earth, with frequent phreatic eruptions, temperatures ranging from near-ambient to almost boiling, a pH range of -1 to 1.5, and a wide range of chemistries and redox potential. Martian acid-sulfate hydrothermal systems were likely similarly dynamic and equally challenging to life. The microbiology existing within Laguna Caliente was characterized for the first time, with sampling taking place in November, 2013. The diversity of the microbial community was surveyed via extraction of environmental DNA from fluid and sediment samples followed by Illumina sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. The microbial diversity was limited to a single species of the bacterial genus Acidiphilium. This organism likely gets its energy from oxidation of reduced sulfur in the lake, including elemental sulfur. Given Mars' propensity for sulfur and acid-sulfate environments, this type of organism is of significant interest to the search for past or present life on the Red Planet. Key Words: Mars astrobiology-Acid-sulfate hydrothermal systems-Extremophiles-Acidic-High temperature-Acidiphilium bacteria. Astrobiology 18, 923-933.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian M. Hynek
- Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, USA
- Department of Geological Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, USA
- Address correspondence to:Brian M. HynekLaboratory for Atmospheric and Space PhysicsUniversity of Colorado3665 Discovery Dr.Boulder, CO 80303
| | - Karyn L. Rogers
- Earth and Environmental Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York, USA
| | - Monique Antunovich
- Department of Geological Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, USA
| | - Geoffroy Avard
- OVSICORI, National University of Costa Rica, Heredia, Costa Rica
| | - Guillermo E. Alvarado
- Centro de Investigaciones Geológicas, Red Sismológica Nacional, Universidad de Costa Rica, Costa Rica
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