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Zhou Z, Tran PQ, Adams AM, Kieft K, Breier JA, Fortunato CS, Sheik CS, Huber JA, Li M, Dick GJ, Anantharaman K. Sulfur cycling connects microbiomes and biogeochemistry in deep-sea hydrothermal plumes. THE ISME JOURNAL 2023:10.1038/s41396-023-01421-0. [PMID: 37179442 DOI: 10.1038/s41396-023-01421-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2022] [Revised: 04/17/2023] [Accepted: 04/20/2023] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
In globally distributed deep-sea hydrothermal vent plumes, microbiomes are shaped by the redox energy landscapes created by reduced hydrothermal vent fluids mixing with oxidized seawater. Plumes can disperse over thousands of kilometers and their characteristics are determined by geochemical sources from vents, e.g., hydrothermal inputs, nutrients, and trace metals. However, the impacts of plume biogeochemistry on the oceans are poorly constrained due to a lack of integrated understanding of microbiomes, population genetics, and geochemistry. Here, we use microbial genomes to understand links between biogeography, evolution, and metabolic connectivity, and elucidate their impacts on biogeochemical cycling in the deep sea. Using data from 36 diverse plume samples from seven ocean basins, we show that sulfur metabolism defines the core microbiome of plumes and drives metabolic connectivity in the microbial community. Sulfur-dominated geochemistry influences energy landscapes and promotes microbial growth, while other energy sources influence local energy landscapes. We further demonstrated the consistency of links among geochemistry, function, and taxonomy. Amongst all microbial metabolisms, sulfur transformations had the highest MW-score, a measure of metabolic connectivity in microbial communities. Additionally, plume microbial populations have low diversity, short migration history, and gene-specific sweep patterns after migrating from background seawater. Selected functions include nutrient uptake, aerobic oxidation, sulfur oxidation for higher energy yields, and stress responses for adaptation. Our findings provide the ecological and evolutionary bases of change in sulfur-driven microbial communities and their population genetics in adaptation to changing geochemical gradients in the oceans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhichao Zhou
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
| | - Patricia Q Tran
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
- Freshwater and Marine Sciences Graduate Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
| | - Alyssa M Adams
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
| | - Kristopher Kieft
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
- Microbiology Doctoral Training Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
| | - John A Breier
- School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg, TX, 78539, USA
| | | | - Cody S Sheik
- Department of Biology and Large Lakes Observatory, University of Minnesota Duluth, Duluth, MN, 55812, USA
| | - Julie A Huber
- Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, 02543, USA
| | - Meng Li
- Archaeal Biology Center, Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Microbiome Engineering, Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, China
| | - Gregory J Dick
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
- Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
| | - Karthik Anantharaman
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA.
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2
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Linse K, Copley JT, Connelly DP, Larter RD, Pearce DA, Polunin NVC, Rogers AD, Chen C, Clarke A, Glover AG, Graham AGC, Huvenne VAI, Marsh L, Reid WDK, Roterman CN, Sweeting CJ, Zwirglmaier K, Tyler PA. Fauna of the Kemp Caldera and its upper bathyal hydrothermal vents (South Sandwich Arc, Antarctica). ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2019; 6:191501. [PMID: 31827872 PMCID: PMC6894572 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.191501] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2019] [Accepted: 10/23/2019] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Faunal assemblages at hydrothermal vents associated with island-arc volcanism are less well known than those at vents on mid-ocean ridges and back-arc spreading centres. This study characterizes chemosynthetic biotopes at active hydrothermal vents discovered at the Kemp Caldera in the South Sandwich Arc. The caldera hosts sulfur and anhydrite vent chimneys in 1375-1487 m depth, which emit sulfide-rich fluids with temperatures up to 212°C, and the microbial community of water samples in the buoyant plume rising from the vents was dominated by sulfur-oxidizing Gammaproteobacteria. A total of 12 macro- and megafaunal taxa depending on hydrothermal activity were collected in these biotopes, of which seven species were known from the East Scotia Ridge (ESR) vents and three species from vents outside the Southern Ocean. Faunal assemblages were dominated by large vesicomyid clams, actinostolid anemones, Sericosura sea spiders and lepetodrilid and cocculinid limpets, but several taxa abundant at nearby ESR hydrothermal vents were rare such as the stalked barnacle Neolepas scotiaensis. Multivariate analysis of fauna at Kemp Caldera and vents in neighbouring areas indicated that the Kemp Caldera is most similar to vent fields in the previously established Southern Ocean vent biogeographic province, showing that the species composition at island-arc hydrothermal vents can be distinct from nearby seafloor-spreading systems. δ 13C and δ 15N isotope values of megafaunal species analysed from the Kemp Caldera were similar to those of the same or related species at other vent fields, but none of the fauna sampled at Kemp Caldera had δ 13C values, indicating nutritional dependence on Epsilonproteobacteria, unlike fauna at other island-arc hydrothermal vents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katrin Linse
- British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK
| | - Jonathan T. Copley
- Ocean and Earth Science, University of Southampton, Waterfront Campus, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK
| | | | - Robert D. Larter
- British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK
| | - David A. Pearce
- British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK
| | - Nick V. C. Polunin
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Ridley Building, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK
| | - Alex D. Rogers
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK
| | - Chong Chen
- X-STAR, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), 2-15 Natsushima-cho, Yokosuka 237-0061, Kanagawa Pref. Japan
| | - Andrew Clarke
- British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK
| | - Adrian G. Glover
- Life Sciences Department, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK
| | | | | | - Leigh Marsh
- Ocean and Earth Science, University of Southampton, Waterfront Campus, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK
| | - William D. K. Reid
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Ridley Building, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK
| | - C. Nicolai Roterman
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK
| | - Christopher J. Sweeting
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Ridley Building, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK
| | - Katrin Zwirglmaier
- British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK
| | - Paul A. Tyler
- Ocean and Earth Science, University of Southampton, Waterfront Campus, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK
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3
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Li M, Jain S, Dick GJ. Genomic and Transcriptomic Resolution of Organic Matter Utilization Among Deep-Sea Bacteria in Guaymas Basin Hydrothermal Plumes. Front Microbiol 2016; 7:1125. [PMID: 27512389 PMCID: PMC4962555 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2016.01125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2016] [Accepted: 07/06/2016] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Microbial chemosynthesis within deep-sea hydrothermal vent plumes is a regionally important source of organic carbon to the deep ocean. Although chemolithoautotrophs within hydrothermal plumes have attracted much attention, a gap remains in understanding the fate of organic carbon produced via chemosynthesis. In the present study, we conducted shotgun metagenomic and metatranscriptomic sequencing on samples from deep-sea hydrothermal vent plumes and surrounding background seawaters at Guaymas Basin (GB) in the Gulf of California. De novo assembly of metagenomic reads and binning by tetranucleotide signatures using emergent self-organizing maps (ESOM) revealed 66 partial and nearly complete bacterial genomes. These bacterial genomes belong to 10 different phyla: Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Chloroflexi, Deferribacteres, Firmicutes, Gemmatimonadetes, Nitrospirae, Planctomycetes, Proteobacteria, Verrucomicrobia. Although several major transcriptionally active bacterial groups (Methylococcaceae, Methylomicrobium, SUP05, and SAR324) displayed methanotrophic and chemolithoautotrophic metabolisms, most other bacterial groups contain genes encoding extracellular peptidases and carbohydrate metabolizing enzymes with significantly higher transcripts in the plume than in background, indicating they are involved in degrading organic carbon derived from hydrothermal chemosynthesis. Among the most abundant and active heterotrophic bacteria in deep-sea hydrothermal plumes are Planctomycetes, which accounted for seven genomes with distinct functional and transcriptional activities. The Gemmatimonadetes and Verrucomicrobia also had abundant transcripts involved in organic carbon utilization. These results extend our knowledge of heterotrophic metabolism of bacterial communities in deep-sea hydrothermal plumes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meng Li
- Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University Shenzhen, China
| | - Sunit Jain
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Gregory J Dick
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of MichiganAnn Arbor, MI, USA; Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of MichiganAnn Arbor, MI, USA; Center of Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics, University of MichiganAnn Arbor, MI, USA
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4
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Metagenomic resolution of microbial functions in deep-sea hydrothermal plumes across the Eastern Lau Spreading Center. ISME JOURNAL 2015; 10:225-39. [PMID: 26046257 DOI: 10.1038/ismej.2015.81] [Citation(s) in RCA: 89] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2014] [Revised: 03/05/2015] [Accepted: 04/09/2015] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Microbial processes within deep-sea hydrothermal plumes affect ocean biogeochemistry on global scales. In rising hydrothermal plumes, a combination of microbial metabolism and particle formation processes initiate the transformation of reduced chemicals like hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen, methane, iron, manganese and ammonia that are abundant in hydrothermal vent fluids. Despite the biogeochemical importance of this rising portion of plumes, it is understudied in comparison to neutrally buoyant plumes. Here we use metagenomics and bioenergetic modeling to describe the abundance and genetic potential of microorganisms in relation to available electron donors in five different hydrothermal plumes and three associated background deep-sea waters from the Eastern Lau Spreading Center located in the Western Pacific Ocean. Three hundred and thirty one distinct genomic 'bins' were identified, comprising an estimated 951 genomes of archaea, bacteria, eukarya and viruses. A significant proportion of these genomes is from novel microorganisms and thus reveals insights into the energy metabolism of heretofore unknown microbial groups. Community-wide analyses of genes encoding enzymes that oxidize inorganic energy sources showed that sulfur oxidation was the most abundant and diverse chemolithotrophic microbial metabolism in the community. Genes for sulfur oxidation were commonly present in genomic bins that also contained genes for oxidation of hydrogen and methane, suggesting metabolic versatility in these microbial groups. The relative diversity and abundance of genes encoding hydrogen oxidation was moderate, whereas that of genes for methane and ammonia oxidation was low in comparison to sulfur oxidation. Bioenergetic-thermodynamic modeling supports the metagenomic analyses, showing that oxidation of elemental sulfur with oxygen is the most dominant catabolic reaction in the hydrothermal plumes. We conclude that the energy metabolism of microbial communities inhabiting rising hydrothermal plumes is dictated by the underlying plume chemistry, with a dominant role for sulfur-based chemolithoautotrophy.
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5
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Reed DC, Breier JA, Jiang H, Anantharaman K, Klausmeier CA, Toner BM, Hancock C, Speer K, Thurnherr AM, Dick GJ. Predicting the response of the deep-ocean microbiome to geochemical perturbations by hydrothermal vents. ISME JOURNAL 2015; 9:1857-69. [PMID: 25658053 DOI: 10.1038/ismej.2015.4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2014] [Revised: 12/17/2014] [Accepted: 12/23/2014] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Submarine hydrothermal vents perturb the deep-ocean microbiome by injecting reduced chemical species into the water column that act as an energy source for chemosynthetic organisms. These systems thus provide excellent natural laboratories for studying the response of microbial communities to shifts in marine geochemistry. The present study explores the processes that regulate coupled microbial-geochemical dynamics in hydrothermal plumes by means of a novel mathematical model, which combines thermodynamics, growth and reaction kinetics, and transport processes derived from a fluid dynamics model. Simulations of a plume located in the ABE vent field of the Lau basin were able to reproduce metagenomic observations well and demonstrated that the magnitude of primary production and rate of autotrophic growth are largely regulated by the energetics of metabolisms and the availability of electron donors, as opposed to kinetic parameters. Ambient seawater was the dominant source of microbes to the plume and sulphur oxidisers constituted almost 90% of the modelled community in the neutrally-buoyant plume. Data from drifters deployed in the region allowed the different time scales of metabolisms to be cast in a spatial context, which demonstrated spatial succession in the microbial community. While growth was shown to occur over distances of tens of kilometers, microbes persisted over hundreds of kilometers. Given that high-temperature hydrothermal systems are found less than 100 km apart on average, plumes may act as important vectors between different vent fields and other environments that are hospitable to similar organisms, such as oil spills and oxygen minimum zones.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel C Reed
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - John A Breier
- Department of Ocean Physics and Engineering, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, USA
| | - Houshuo Jiang
- Department of Ocean Physics and Engineering, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, USA
| | - Karthik Anantharaman
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Christopher A Klausmeier
- Kellogg Biological Station, Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, Hickory Corners, MI, USA
| | - Brandy M Toner
- Department of Soil, Water, and Climate, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, St. Paul, MN, USA
| | - Cathrine Hancock
- Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Institute, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA
| | - Kevin Speer
- 1] Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Institute, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA [2] Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA
| | - Andreas M Thurnherr
- Division of Ocean and Climate Physics, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, NY, USA
| | - Gregory J Dick
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
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6
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Spatially resolved sampling reveals dynamic microbial communities in rising hydrothermal plumes across a back-arc basin. ISME JOURNAL 2014; 9:1434-45. [PMID: 25489728 DOI: 10.1038/ismej.2014.228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2014] [Revised: 10/21/2014] [Accepted: 10/28/2014] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Within hydrothermal plumes, chemosynthetic processes and microbe-mineral interactions drive primary productivity in deep-ocean food webs and may influence transport of elements such as iron. However, the source of microorganisms in plumes and the factors governing how these communities assemble are poorly understood, in part due to lack of data from early stages of plume formation. In this study, we examined microbial community composition of rising hydrothermal plumes from five vent fields along the Eastern Lau Spreading Center. Seafloor and plume microbial communities were significantly dissimilar and shared few phylotypes. Plume communities were highly similar to each other with significant differences in community membership only between Kilo Moana and Mariner, two vents that are separated by extremes in depth, latitude and geochemistry. Systematic sampling of waters surrounding the vents revealed that species richness and phylogenetic diversity was typically highest near the vent orifice, implying mixing of microbial communities from the surrounding habitats. Above-plume background communities were primarily dominated by SAR11, SAR324 and MG-I Archaea, while SUP05, Sulfurovum, Sulfurimonas, SAR324 and Alteromonas were abundant in plume and near-bottom background communities. These results show that the ubiquitous water-column microorganisms populate plume communities, and that the composition of background seawater exerts primary influence on plume community composition, with secondary influence from geochemical and/or physical properties of vents. Many of these pervasive deep-ocean organisms are capable of lithotrophy, suggesting that they are poised to use inorganic electron donors encountered in hydrothermal plumes.
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7
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Sheik CS, Jain S, Dick GJ. Metabolic flexibility of enigmatic SAR324 revealed through metagenomics and metatranscriptomics. Environ Microbiol 2013; 16:304-17. [PMID: 23809230 DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.12165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 116] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2012] [Revised: 05/09/2013] [Accepted: 05/24/2013] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Chemolithotrophy is a pervasive metabolic lifestyle for microorganisms in the dark ocean. The SAR324 group of Deltaproteobacteria is ubiquitous in the ocean and has been implicated in sulfur oxidation and carbon fixation, but also contains genomic signatures of C1 utilization and heterotrophy. Here, we reconstructed the metagenome and metatranscriptome of a population of SAR324 from a hydrothermal plume and surrounding waters in the deep Gulf of California to gain insight into the genetic capability and transcriptional dynamics of this enigmatic group. SAR324's metabolism is signified by genes that encode a novel particulate hydrocarbon monooxygenase (pHMO), degradation pathways for corresponding alcohols and short-chain fatty acids, dissimilatory sulfur oxidation, formate dehydrogenase (FDH) and a nitrite reductase (NirK). Transcripts of the pHMO, NirK, FDH and transporters for exogenous carbon and amino acid uptake were highly abundant in plume waters. Sulfur oxidation genes were also abundant in the plume metatranscriptome, indicating SAR324 may also utilize reduced sulfur species in hydrothermal fluids. These results suggest that aspects of SAR324's versatile metabolism (lithotrophy, heterotrophy and alkane oxidation) operate simultaneously, and may explain SAR324's ubiquity in the deep Gulf of California and in the global marine biosphere.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cody S Sheik
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
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8
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Chemical and Biochemical Transformations in Hydrothermal Plumes. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2013. [DOI: 10.1029/gm091p0369] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
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9
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Jannasch HW. Microbial Interactions with Hydrothermal Fluids. SEAFLOOR HYDROTHERMAL SYSTEMS: PHYSICAL, CHEMICAL, BIOLOGICAL, AND GEOLOGICAL INTERACTIONS 2013. [DOI: 10.1029/gm091p0273] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
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10
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Modeling the Impact of Diffuse Vent Microorganisms Along Mid-Ocean Ridges and Flanks. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2013. [DOI: 10.1029/178gm11] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/14/2023]
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11
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Evidence for hydrogen oxidation and metabolic plasticity in widespread deep-sea sulfur-oxidizing bacteria. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2012; 110:330-5. [PMID: 23263870 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1215340110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 113] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Hydrothermal vents are a well-known source of energy that powers chemosynthesis in the deep sea. Recent work suggests that microbial chemosynthesis is also surprisingly pervasive throughout the dark oceans, serving as a significant CO(2) sink even at sites far removed from vents. Ammonia and sulfur have been identified as potential electron donors for this chemosynthesis, but they do not fully account for measured rates of dark primary production in the pelagic water column. Here we use metagenomic and metatranscriptomic analyses to show that deep-sea populations of the SUP05 group of uncultured sulfur-oxidizing Gammaproteobacteria, which are abundant in widespread and diverse marine environments, contain and highly express genes encoding group 1 Ni, Fe hydrogenase enzymes for H(2) oxidation. Reconstruction of near-complete genomes of two cooccurring SUP05 populations in hydrothermal plumes and deep waters of the Gulf of California enabled detailed population-specific metatranscriptomic analyses, revealing dynamic patterns of gene content and transcript abundance. SUP05 transcripts for genes involved in H(2) and sulfur oxidation are most abundant in hydrothermal plumes where these electron donors are enriched. In contrast, a second hydrogenase has more abundant transcripts in background deep-sea samples. Coupled with results from a bioenergetic model that suggest that H(2) oxidation can contribute significantly to the SUP05 energy budget, these findings reveal the potential importance of H(2) as a key energy source in the deep ocean. This study also highlights the genomic plasticity of SUP05, which enables this widely distributed group to optimize its energy metabolism (electron donor and acceptor) to local geochemical conditions.
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12
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Lesniewski RA, Jain S, Anantharaman K, Schloss PD, Dick GJ. The metatranscriptome of a deep-sea hydrothermal plume is dominated by water column methanotrophs and lithotrophs. ISME JOURNAL 2012; 6:2257-68. [PMID: 22695860 DOI: 10.1038/ismej.2012.63] [Citation(s) in RCA: 118] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Microorganisms mediate geochemical processes in deep-sea hydrothermal vent plumes, which are a conduit for transfer of elements and energy from the subsurface to the oceans. Despite this important microbial influence on marine geochemistry, the ecology and activity of microbial communities in hydrothermal plumes is largely unexplored. Here, we use a coordinated metagenomic and metatranscriptomic approach to compare microbial communities in Guaymas Basin hydrothermal plumes to background waters above the plume and in the adjacent Carmen Basin. Despite marked increases in plume total RNA concentrations (3-4 times) and microbially mediated manganese oxidation rates (15-125 times), plume and background metatranscriptomes were dominated by the same groups of methanotrophs and chemolithoautotrophs. Abundant community members of Guaymas Basin seafloor environments (hydrothermal sediments and chimneys) were not prevalent in the plume metatranscriptome. De novo metagenomic assembly was used to reconstruct genomes of abundant populations, including Marine Group I archaea, Methylococcaceae, SAR324 Deltaproteobacteria and SUP05 Gammaproteobacteria. Mapping transcripts to these genomes revealed abundant expression of genes involved in the chemolithotrophic oxidation of ammonia (amo), methane (pmo) and sulfur (sox). Whereas amo and pmo gene transcripts were abundant in both plume and background, transcripts of sox genes for sulfur oxidation from SUP05 groups displayed a 10-20-fold increase in plumes. We conclude that the biogeochemistry of Guaymas Basin hydrothermal plumes is mediated by microorganisms that are derived from seawater rather than from seafloor hydrothermal environments such as chimneys or sediments, and that hydrothermal inputs serve as important electron donors for primary production in the deep Gulf of California.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan A Lesniewski
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1005, USA
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13
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Orcutt BN, Sylvan JB, Knab NJ, Edwards KJ. Microbial ecology of the dark ocean above, at, and below the seafloor. Microbiol Mol Biol Rev 2011; 75:361-422. [PMID: 21646433 PMCID: PMC3122624 DOI: 10.1128/mmbr.00039-10] [Citation(s) in RCA: 324] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The majority of life on Earth--notably, microbial life--occurs in places that do not receive sunlight, with the habitats of the oceans being the largest of these reservoirs. Sunlight penetrates only a few tens to hundreds of meters into the ocean, resulting in large-scale microbial ecosystems that function in the dark. Our knowledge of microbial processes in the dark ocean-the aphotic pelagic ocean, sediments, oceanic crust, hydrothermal vents, etc.-has increased substantially in recent decades. Studies that try to decipher the activity of microorganisms in the dark ocean, where we cannot easily observe them, are yielding paradigm-shifting discoveries that are fundamentally changing our understanding of the role of the dark ocean in the global Earth system and its biogeochemical cycles. New generations of researchers and experimental tools have emerged, in the last decade in particular, owing to dedicated research programs to explore the dark ocean biosphere. This review focuses on our current understanding of microbiology in the dark ocean, outlining salient features of various habitats and discussing known and still unexplored types of microbial metabolism and their consequences in global biogeochemical cycling. We also focus on patterns of microbial diversity in the dark ocean and on processes and communities that are characteristic of the different habitats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beth N. Orcutt
- Center for Geomicrobiology, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark
- Marine Environmental Biology Section, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089
| | - Jason B. Sylvan
- Marine Environmental Biology Section, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089
| | - Nina J. Knab
- Marine Environmental Biology Section, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089
| | - Katrina J. Edwards
- Marine Environmental Biology Section, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089
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14
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Thornburg CC, Zabriskie TM, McPhail KL. Deep-sea hydrothermal vents: potential hot spots for natural products discovery? JOURNAL OF NATURAL PRODUCTS 2010; 73:489-499. [PMID: 20099811 DOI: 10.1021/np900662k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Deep-sea hydrothermal vents are among the most extreme and dynamic environments on Earth. However, islands of highly dense and biologically diverse communities exist in the immediate vicinity of hydrothermal vent flows, in stark contrast to the surrounding bare seafloor. These communities comprise organisms with distinct metabolisms based on chemosynthesis and growth rates comparable to those from shallow water tropical environments, which have been rich sources of biologically active natural products. The geological setting and geochemical nature of deep-sea vents that impact the biogeography of vent organisms, chemosynthesis, and the known biological and metabolic diversity of Eukarya, Bacteria, and Archaea, including the handful of natural products isolated to date from deep-sea vent organisms, are considered here in an assessment of deep-sea hydrothermal vents as potential hot spots for natural products investigations. Of critical importance too are the logistics of collecting deep vent organisms, opportunities for re-collection considering the stability and longevity of vent sites, and the ability to culture natural product-producing deep vent organisms in the laboratory. New cost-effective technologies in deep-sea research and more advanced molecular techniques aimed at screening a more inclusive genetic assembly are poised to accelerate natural product discoveries from these microbial diversity hot spots.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher C Thornburg
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, USA
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15
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Dick GJ, Tebo BM. Microbial diversity and biogeochemistry of the Guaymas Basin deep-sea hydrothermal plume. Environ Microbiol 2010; 12:1334-47. [PMID: 20192971 DOI: 10.1111/j.1462-2920.2010.02177.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 94] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Hydrothermal plumes are hot spots of microbial biogeochemistry in the deep ocean, yet little is known about the diversity or ecology of microorganisms inhabiting plumes. Recent biogeochemical evidence shows that Mn(II) oxidation in the Guaymas Basin (GB) hydrothermal plume is microbially mediated and suggests that the plume microbial community is distinct from deep-sea communities. Here we use a molecular approach to compare microbial diversity in the GB plume and in background deep seawater communities, and cultivation to identify Mn(II)-oxidizing bacteria from plumes and sediments. Despite dramatic differences in Mn(II) oxidation rates between plumes and background seawater, microbial diversity and membership were remarkably similar. All bacterial clone libraries were dominated by Gammaproteobacteria and archaeal clone libraries were dominated by Crenarchaeota. Two lineages, both phylogenetically related to methanotrophs and/or methylotrophs, were consistently over-represented in the plume. Eight Mn(II)-oxidizing bacteria were isolated, but none of these or previously identified Mn(II) oxidizers were abundant in clone libraries. Taken together with Mn(II) oxidation rates measured in laboratory cultures and in the field, these results suggest that Mn(II) oxidation in the GB hydrothermal plume is mediated by genome-level dynamics (gene content and/or expression) of microorganisms that are indigenous and abundant in the deep sea but have yet to be unidentified as Mn(II) oxidizers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregory J Dick
- Marine Biology Research Division, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0202, USA
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Manini E, Luna GM, Corinaldesi C, Zeppilli D, Bortoluzzi G, Caramanna G, Raffa F, Danovaro R. Prokaryote diversity and virus abundance in shallow hydrothermal vents of the Mediterranean Sea (Panarea Island) and the Pacific Ocean (north Sulawesi-Indonesia). MICROBIAL ECOLOGY 2008; 55:626-39. [PMID: 17687593 DOI: 10.1007/s00248-007-9306-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2006] [Revised: 07/13/2007] [Accepted: 07/15/2007] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
Despite their ubiquitous distribution in tectonically active coastal zones, shallow water hydrothermal vents have been less investigated than deep-sea vents. In the present study, we investigated the role of viral control and fluid emissions on prokaryote abundance, diversity, and community structure (total Archaea, total Bacteria, and sulphate-reducing bacteria) in waters and sediments surrounding the caldera of four different shallow-water hydrothermal vents (three located in the Mediterranean Sea and one in the Pacific Ocean). All vents, independent of their location, generally displayed a significant decrease of benthic prokaryote abundance, as well as its viable fraction, with increasing distance from the vent. Prokaryote assemblages were always dominated by Bacteria. Benthic Archaea accounted for 23-33% of total prokaryote abundance in the Mediterranean Sea and from 13 to 29% in the Pacific Ocean, whereas in the water column they accounted for 25-38%. The highest benthic bacterial ribotype richness was observed in close proximity of the vents (i.e., at 10-cm distance from the emissions), indicating that vent fluids might influence bacterial diversity in surrounding sediments. Virioplankton and viriobenthos abundances were low compared to other marine systems, suggesting that temperature and physical-chemical conditions might influence viral survival in these vent systems. We thus hypothesize that the high bacterial diversity observed in close proximity of the vents is related with the highly variable vent emissions, which could favor the coexistence of several prokaryotic species.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Manini
- Institute of Marine Science, ISMAR-CNR, Largo Fiera della Pesca, 60125 Ancona, Italy
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Gharib JJ. Methane dynamics in hydrothermal plumes over a superfast spreading center: East Pacific Rise, 27.5°–32.3°S. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2005. [DOI: 10.1029/2004jb003531] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Sunamura M, Higashi Y, Miyako C, Ishibashi JI, Maruyama A. Two bacteria phylotypes are predominant in the Suiyo seamount hydrothermal plume. Appl Environ Microbiol 2004; 70:1190-8. [PMID: 14766605 PMCID: PMC348851 DOI: 10.1128/aem.70.2.1190-1198.2004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 122] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Microbial diversity and populations in a hydrothermal plume that was present inside the caldera of the Suiyo Seamount, a submarine volcano on the Izu-Bonin Arc, were investigated by performing a phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene and by using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Corresponding to transmissivity, an indicator of turbidity, the vertical total cell count as determined by 4',6'-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) staining varied from 5.6 x 10(4) to 1.1 x 10(5) cells ml(-1), and the apparent plume layer was assessed to be at a depth of 1,050 to 1,200 m inside the caldera and to contain 1.0 x 10(5) to 1.1 x 10(5) cells ml(-1). From microbial samples collected in the plume by an in situ filtration system, the following two major phylogenetic groups, which were closely related to sulfur-oxidizing microbes, were obtained: the SUP05 group belonging to the gamma subclass of the Proteobacteria (13 of 20 clones) and the SUP01 group belonging to the epsilon subclass of the Proteobacteria (5 of 20 clones). Specific oligonucleotide probes for these groups (SUP05-187 and SUP01-63) were designed and were used with various water samples obtained from the Suiyo Seamount. In the apparent plume layer, up to 66% of the total counts of microbial cells were estimated to be Bacteria cells that hybridized to EUB338, and few cells were identified by the archaeal probe ARCH915. Almost all Bacteria cells were hard to identify with the known group-specific probes, such as ALF19, GAM42a, and CF319, while 88 to 90% of the Bacteria cells hybridized with SUP05-187 and >98% of them were considered members of the SUP05 and SUP01 populations. In a low-temperature vent fluid emitted from a bivalve-colonized mound, the SUP05 cells accounted for >99% of the Bacteria cells, suggesting that a portion of the plume cells originated on the surface of the seafloor at a depth of about 1,380 m. From further analysis of cell morphology (i.e., cell size and cell elongation index) we inferred that the SUP05 cells were active in the plume layer at a depth of 1,050 to 1,200 m compared to the activity in a near-bottom layer, while many elongated cells were found between these layers. These findings suggest that the morphology and distribution of SUP05 cells have complex relationships with hydrothermal activities and water circulation. Although growth and production rates remain to be defined, we concluded that this Suiyo Seamount caldera has functioned as a natural continuous incubator for these two phylotypes of Bacteria in an aphotic deep-sea environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michinari Sunamura
- Biological Resources and Functions, National Institute of Advanced and Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Higashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305 -8566, Japan
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Wirsen CO, Jannasch HW, Molyneaux SJ. Chemosynthetic microbial activity at Mid-Atlantic Ridge hydrothermal vent sites. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 1993. [DOI: 10.1029/92jb01556] [Citation(s) in RCA: 110] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
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Charlou JL, Donval JP. Hydrothermal methane venting between 12°N and 26°N along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 1993. [DOI: 10.1029/92jb02047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 160] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Water column anomalies associated with hydrothermal activity between 11°40′ and 13°N on the East Pacific rise: discrepancies between tracers. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 1991. [DOI: 10.1016/0198-0149(91)90064-m] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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Cannon GA, Pashinski DJ, Lemon MR. Middepth flow near hydrothermal venting sites on the southern Juan de Fuca Ridge. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 1991. [DOI: 10.1029/91jc01023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Straube WL, Deming JW, Somerville CC, Colwell RR, Baross JA. Particulate DNA in Smoker Fluids: Evidence for Existence of Microbial Populations in Hot Hydrothermal Systems. Appl Environ Microbiol 1990; 56:1440-7. [PMID: 16348193 PMCID: PMC184425 DOI: 10.1128/aem.56.5.1440-1447.1990] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
As part of an interdisciplinary study of hydrothermal vents on the Endeavour Segment of the Juan de Fuca Ridge, we used the submersible
ALVIN
to collect 57 fluid samples in titanium syringes and Go Flo Niskin bottles from 17 different hot vents (smokers and flanges) and their environs for the purpose of extracting particulate DNA. The relative purity of the vent fluids collected was determined by Mg content as an indicator of seawater entrainment. Particulate material concentrated from these samples was lysed enzymatically (enz) and by a combination of enzyme and French press treatment (fp). Concentrations of partially purified DNA recovered from these lysates were determined spectrofluorometrically by using the dye Hoechst 33258. Ambient seawater surrounding the vents was found to contain low DNA concentrations, 0.18 to 0.32 ng of DNA per ml (
n
= 4; mean
enz
= 0.23 ± 0.05; mean
fp
= 0.26 ± 0.05), while low-temperature vent samples yielded significantly higher concentrations of 0.37 to 2.12 ng of DNA per ml (
n
= 4; mean
enz
= 0.97 ± 0.68; mean
fp
= 1.05 ± 0.54). Although DNA recovery values from superheated (210 to 345°C) flange samples (mean
enz
= 0.14 ± 0.10; mean
fp
= 0.12 ± 0.14) were not significantly different from ambient seawater values, most of the superheated (174 to 357°C) smoker fluid samples contained particulate DNA in concentrations too high to be attributable to entrained seawater. Detailed sampling at one smoker site demonstrated not only the existence of significant levels of particulate DNA in the superheated smoker fluids but also the presence of an elevated microbial population in the buoyant plume 20 to 100 m above the smoker. These results underscore the heterogeneity of smoker environments within a given hydrothermal vent field and indicate that microorganisms exist in some superheated fluids.
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Affiliation(s)
- W L Straube
- Department of Microbiology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742; School of Oceanography, WB-10, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195 ; and Center of Marine Biotechnology, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland 20201
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Roth SE, Dymond J. Transport and settling of organic material in a deep-sea hydrothermal plume: evidence from particle flux measurements. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 1989. [DOI: 10.1016/0198-0149(89)90103-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Berg CJ, Van Dover CL. Benthopelagic macrozooplankton communities at and near deep-sea hydrothermal vents in the eastern Pacific ocean and the Gulf of California. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 1987. [DOI: 10.1016/0198-0149(87)90144-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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