1
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Wei X, Tsai MS, Liang L, Jiang L, Hung CJ, Jelliffe-Pawlowski L, Rand L, Snyder M, Jiang C. Vaginal microbiomes show ethnic evolutionary dynamics and positive selection of Lactobacillus adhesins driven by a long-term niche-specific process. Cell Rep 2024; 43:114078. [PMID: 38598334 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.114078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2023] [Revised: 03/01/2024] [Accepted: 03/22/2024] [Indexed: 04/12/2024] Open
Abstract
The vaginal microbiome's composition varies among ethnicities. However, the evolutionary landscape of the vaginal microbiome in the multi-ethnic context remains understudied. We perform a systematic evolutionary analysis of 351 vaginal microbiome samples from 35 multi-ethnic pregnant women, in addition to two validation cohorts, totaling 462 samples from 90 women. Microbiome alpha diversity and community state dynamics show strong ethnic signatures. Lactobacillaceae have a higher ratio of non-synonymous to synonymous polymorphism and lower nucleotide diversity than non-Lactobacillaceae in all ethnicities, with a large repertoire of positively selected genes, including the mucin-binding and cell wall anchor genes. These evolutionary dynamics are driven by the long-term evolutionary process unique to the human vaginal niche. Finally, we propose an evolutionary model reflecting the environmental niches of microbes. Our study reveals the extensive ethnic signatures in vaginal microbial ecology and evolution, highlighting the importance of studying the host-microbiome ecosystem from an evolutionary perspective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Wei
- MOE Key Laboratory of Biosystems Homeostasis & Protection, and Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Cancer Molecular Cell Biology, Life Sciences Institute, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310030, China; State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310009, China
| | - Ming-Shian Tsai
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Liang Liang
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Liuyiqi Jiang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Biosystems Homeostasis & Protection, and Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Cancer Molecular Cell Biology, Life Sciences Institute, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310030, China
| | - Chia-Jui Hung
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Department of Biomedical Informatics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Laura Jelliffe-Pawlowski
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Larry Rand
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA.
| | - Michael Snyder
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
| | - Chao Jiang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Biosystems Homeostasis & Protection, and Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Cancer Molecular Cell Biology, Life Sciences Institute, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310030, China; State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310009, China.
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2
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Logares R. Decoding populations in the ocean microbiome. MICROBIOME 2024; 12:67. [PMID: 38561814 PMCID: PMC10983722 DOI: 10.1186/s40168-024-01778-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2023] [Accepted: 02/12/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
Understanding the characteristics and structure of populations is fundamental to comprehending ecosystem processes and evolutionary adaptations. While the study of animal and plant populations has spanned a few centuries, microbial populations have been under scientific scrutiny for a considerably shorter period. In the ocean, analyzing the genetic composition of microbial populations and their adaptations to multiple niches can yield important insights into ecosystem function and the microbiome's response to global change. However, microbial populations have remained elusive to the scientific community due to the challenges associated with isolating microorganisms in the laboratory. Today, advancements in large-scale metagenomics and metatranscriptomics facilitate the investigation of populations from many uncultured microbial species directly from their habitats. The knowledge acquired thus far reveals substantial genetic diversity among various microbial species, showcasing distinct patterns of population differentiation and adaptations, and highlighting the significant role of selection in structuring populations. In the coming years, population genomics is expected to significantly increase our understanding of the architecture and functioning of the ocean microbiome, providing insights into its vulnerability or resilience in the face of ongoing global change. Video Abstract.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ramiro Logares
- Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM), CSIC, Barcelona, Catalonia, 08003, Spain.
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3
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Hoetzinger M, Hahn MW, Andersson LY, Buckley N, Ramsin C, Buck M, Nuy JK, Garcia SL, Puente-Sánchez F, Bertilsson S. Geographic population structure and distinct intra-population dynamics of globally abundant freshwater bacteria. THE ISME JOURNAL 2024; 18:wrae113. [PMID: 38959851 PMCID: PMC11283720 DOI: 10.1093/ismejo/wrae113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2024] [Revised: 06/09/2024] [Indexed: 07/05/2024]
Abstract
Implications of geographic separation and temporal dynamics on the evolution of free-living bacterial species are widely unclear. However, the vast amount of metagenome sequencing data generated during the last decades from various habitats around the world provides an unprecedented opportunity for such investigations. Here, we exploited publicly available and new freshwater metagenomes in combination with the genomes of abundant freshwater bacteria to reveal geographic and temporal population structure. We focused on species that were detected across broad geographic ranges at high enough sequence coverage for meaningful population genomic analyses, associated with the predominant freshwater taxa acI, LD12, Polynucleobacter, and Candidatus Methylopumilus. Despite the broad geographic ranges, each species appeared as a sequence-discrete cluster, in contrast to abundant marine taxa, for which continuous diversity structures were reported on a global scale. Population differentiation increased significantly with spatial distance in all species, but notable dispersal barriers (e.g. oceanic) were not apparent. Yet, the different species showed contrasting rates of geographic divergence and strikingly different intra-population dynamics in time series within individual habitats. The change in an LD12 population over 7 years was minor (FST = 0.04) compared to differentiation between lakes, whereas a Polynucleobacter population displayed strong changes within merely 2 months (FST up to 0.54), similar in scale to differentiation between populations separated by thousands of kilometers. The slowly and steadily evolving LD12 population showed high strain diversity, whereas the dynamic Polynucleobacter population exhibited alternating clonal expansions of mostly two strains only. Based on the contrasting population structures, we propose distinct models of speciation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthias Hoetzinger
- Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 750 07 Uppsala, Sweden
- Faculty of Chemistry, Biotechnology and Food Science, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, 1433 Ås, Norway
| | - Martin W Hahn
- Research Department for Limnology, University of Innsbruck, 5310 Mondsee, Austria
| | - Linnéa Y Andersson
- Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 750 07 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Nathaniel Buckley
- Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 750 07 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Chelsea Ramsin
- Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 750 07 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Moritz Buck
- Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 750 07 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Julia K Nuy
- Department of Ecology, Environment, and Plant Sciences, Science for Life Laboratory, Stockholm University, 104 05 Stockholm, Sweden
- Centre for Water and Environmental Research, University of Duisburg-Essen, 45141 Essen, Germany
| | - Sarahi L Garcia
- Department of Ecology, Environment, and Plant Sciences, Science for Life Laboratory, Stockholm University, 104 05 Stockholm, Sweden
- Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, 26129 Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Fernando Puente-Sánchez
- Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 750 07 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Stefan Bertilsson
- Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 750 07 Uppsala, Sweden
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4
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Bittner MJ, Bannon CC, Rowland E, Sundh J, Bertrand EM, Andersson AF, Paerl RW, Riemann L. New chemical and microbial perspectives on vitamin B1 and vitamer dynamics of a coastal system. ISME COMMUNICATIONS 2024; 4:ycad016. [PMID: 38390520 PMCID: PMC10881298 DOI: 10.1093/ismeco/ycad016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2023] [Revised: 12/20/2023] [Accepted: 12/22/2023] [Indexed: 02/24/2024]
Abstract
Vitamin B1 (thiamin, B1) is an essential micronutrient for cells, yet intriguingly in aquatic systems most bacterioplankton are unable to synthesize it de novo (auxotrophy), requiring an exogenous source. Cycling of this valuable metabolite in aquatic systems has not been fully investigated and vitamers (B1-related compounds) have only begun to be measured and incorporated into the B1 cycle. Here, we identify potential key producers and consumers of B1 and gain new insights into the dynamics of B1 cycling through measurements of B1 and vitamers (HMP: 4-amino-5-hydroxymethyl-2-methylpyrimidine, HET: 4-methyl-5-thiazoleethanol, FAMP: N-formyl-4-amino-5-aminomethyl-2-methylpyrimidine) in the particulate and dissolved pool in a temperate coastal system. Dissolved B1 was not the primary limiting nutrient for bacterial production and was relatively stable across seasons with concentrations ranging from 74-117 pM, indicating a balance of supply and demand. However, vitamer concentration changed markedly with season as did transcripts related to vitamer salvage and transport suggesting use of vitamers by certain bacterioplankton, e.g. Pelagibacterales. Genomic and transcriptomic analyses showed that up to 78% of the bacterioplankton taxa were B1 auxotrophs. Notably, de novo B1 production was restricted to a few abundant bacterioplankton (e.g. Vulcanococcus, BACL14 (Burkholderiales), Verrucomicrobiales) across seasons. In summer, abundant picocyanobacteria were important putative B1 sources, based on transcriptional activity, leading to an increase in the B1 pool. Our results provide a new dynamic view of the players and processes involved in B1 cycling over time in coastal waters, and identify specific priority populations and processes for future study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meriel J Bittner
- Marine Biological Section, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, 3000 Helsingør, Denmark
| | - Catherine C Bannon
- Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, B3H 4R2, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Elden Rowland
- Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, B3H 4R2, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - John Sundh
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, National Bioinformatics Infrastructure Sweden, Science for Life Laboratory, Stockholm University, Box 1031, 17121 Solna, Sweden
| | - Erin M Bertrand
- Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, B3H 4R2, Nova Scotia, Canada
| | - Anders F Andersson
- Department of Gene Technology, Science for Life Laboratory, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 17165 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Ryan W Paerl
- Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 2769, United States
| | - Lasse Riemann
- Marine Biological Section, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, 3000 Helsingør, Denmark
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5
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Puente-Sánchez F, Hoetzinger M, Buck M, Bertilsson S. Exploring environmental intra-species diversity through non-redundant pangenome assemblies. Mol Ecol Resour 2023; 23:1724-1736. [PMID: 37382302 DOI: 10.1111/1755-0998.13826] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2022] [Revised: 05/24/2023] [Accepted: 06/15/2023] [Indexed: 06/30/2023]
Abstract
At the genome level, microorganisms are highly adaptable both in terms of allele and gene composition. Such heritable traits emerge in response to different environmental niches and can have a profound influence on microbial community dynamics. As a consequence, any individual genome or population will contain merely a fraction of the total genetic diversity of any operationally defined "species", whose ecological potential can thus be only fully understood by studying all of their genomes and the genes therein. This concept, known as the pangenome, is valuable for studying microbial ecology and evolution, as it partitions genomes into core (present in all the genomes from a species, and responsible for housekeeping and species-level niche adaptation among others) and accessory regions (present only in some, and responsible for intra-species differentiation). Here we present SuperPang, an algorithm producing pangenome assemblies from a set of input genomes of varying quality, including metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs). SuperPang runs in linear time and its results are complete, non-redundant, preserve gene ordering and contain both coding and non-coding regions. Our approach provides a modular view of the pangenome, identifying operons and genomic islands, and allowing to track their prevalence in different populations. We illustrate this by analysing intra-species diversity in Polynucleobacter, a bacterial genus ubiquitous in freshwater ecosystems, characterized by their streamlined genomes and their ecological versatility. We show how SuperPang facilitates the simultaneous analysis of allelic and gene content variation under different environmental pressures, allowing us to study the drivers of microbial diversification at unprecedented resolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fernando Puente-Sánchez
- Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Matthias Hoetzinger
- Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Moritz Buck
- Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Stefan Bertilsson
- Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
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6
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Ren L, Song X, Wu C, Li G, Zhang X, Xia X, Xiang C, Han BP, Jeppesen E, Wu QL. Biogeographical and Biodiversity Patterns of Marine Planktonic Bacteria Spanning from the South China Sea across the Gulf of Bengal to the Northern Arabian Sea. Microbiol Spectr 2023; 11:e0039823. [PMID: 37098981 PMCID: PMC10269852 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.00398-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2023] [Accepted: 04/05/2023] [Indexed: 04/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Understanding the biogeographical and biodiversity patterns of bacterial communities is essential in unraveling their responses to future environmental changes. However, the relationships between marine planktonic bacterial biodiversity and seawater chlorophyll a are largely understudied. Here, we used high-throughput sequencing to study the biodiversity patterns of marine planktonic bacteria across a broad chlorophyll a gradient spanning from the South China Sea across the Gulf of Bengal to the northern Arabian Sea. We found that the biogeographical patterns of marine planktonic bacteria complied with the scenario of homogeneous selection, with chlorophyll a concentration being the key environmental selecting variable of bacteria taxa. The relative abundance of Prochlorococcus, the SAR11 clade, the SAR116 clade, and the SAR86 clade significantly decreased in habitats with high chlorophyll a concentrations (>0.5 μg/L). Free-living bacteria (FLB) and particle-associated bacteria (PAB) displayed contrasting alpha diversity and chlorophyll a relationships with a positive linear correlation for FLB but a negative correlation for PAB. We further found that PAB had a narrower niche breadth of chlorophyll a than did FLB, with far fewer bacterial taxa being favored at higher chlorophyll a concentrations. Higher chlorophyll a concentrations were linked to the enhanced stochastic drift and reduced beta diversity of PAB but to the weakened homogeneous selection, enhanced dispersal limitation, and increased beta diversity of FLB. Taken together, our findings might broaden our knowledge about the biogeography of marine planktonic bacteria and advance the understanding of bacterial roles in predicting ecosystem functioning under future environmental changes that are derived from eutrophication. IMPORTANCE One of the long-standing interests of biogeography is to explore diversity patterns and uncover their underlying mechanisms. Despite intensive studies on the responses of eukaryotic communities to chlorophyll a concentrations, we know little about how changes in seawater chlorophyll a concentrations affect free-living bacteria (FLB) and particle-associated bacteria (PAB) diversity patterns in natural systems. Our biogeography study demonstrated that marine FLB and PAB displayed contrasting diversity and chlorophyll a relationships and exhibited completely different assembly mechanisms. Our findings broaden our knowledge about the biogeographical and biodiversity patterns of marine planktonic bacteria in nature systems and suggest that PAB and FLB should be considered independently in predicting marine ecosystem functioning under future frequent eutrophication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lijuan Ren
- Department of Ecology and Institute of Hydrobiology, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology and Key Laboratory of Science and Technology on Operational Oceanography, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xingyu Song
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology and Key Laboratory of Science and Technology on Operational Oceanography, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Chuangfeng Wu
- Department of Ecology and Institute of Hydrobiology, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Gang Li
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology and Key Laboratory of Science and Technology on Operational Oceanography, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiufeng Zhang
- Department of Ecology and Institute of Hydrobiology, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiaomin Xia
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology and Key Laboratory of Science and Technology on Operational Oceanography, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Chenhui Xiang
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology and Key Laboratory of Science and Technology on Operational Oceanography, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Bo-Ping Han
- Department of Ecology and Institute of Hydrobiology, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Erik Jeppesen
- Sino-Danish Centre for Education and Research, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Silkeborg, Denmark
- Limnology Laboratory, Department of Biological Sciences and Centre for Ecosystem Research and Implementation, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Qinglong L. Wu
- Center for Evolution and Conservation Biology, Southern Marine Sciences and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou, China
- State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China
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7
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Jurdzinski KT, Mehrshad M, Delgado LF, Deng Z, Bertilsson S, Andersson AF. Large-scale phylogenomics of aquatic bacteria reveal molecular mechanisms for adaptation to salinity. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadg2059. [PMID: 37235649 PMCID: PMC10219603 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adg2059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2022] [Accepted: 04/21/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
The crossing of environmental barriers poses major adaptive challenges. Rareness of freshwater-marine transitions separates the bacterial communities, but how these are related to brackish counterparts remains elusive, as do the molecular adaptations facilitating cross-biome transitions. We conducted large-scale phylogenomic analysis of freshwater, brackish, and marine quality-filtered metagenome-assembled genomes (11,248). Average nucleotide identity analyses showed that bacterial species rarely existed in multiple biomes. In contrast, distinct brackish basins cohosted numerous species, but their intraspecific population structures displayed clear signs of geographic separation. We further identified the most recent cross-biome transitions, which were rare, ancient, and most commonly directed toward the brackish biome. Transitions were accompanied by systematic changes in amino acid composition and isoelectric point distributions of inferred proteomes, which evolved over millions of years, as well as convergent gains or losses of specific gene functions. Therefore, adaptive challenges entailing proteome reorganization and specific changes in gene content constrains the cross-biome transitions, resulting in species-level separation between aquatic biomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Krzysztof T. Jurdzinski
- Department of Gene Technology, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Science for Life Laboratory, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Maliheh Mehrshad
- Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Luis Fernando Delgado
- Department of Gene Technology, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Science for Life Laboratory, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Ziling Deng
- Department of Gene Technology, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Science for Life Laboratory, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Stefan Bertilsson
- Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Anders F. Andersson
- Department of Gene Technology, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Science for Life Laboratory, Stockholm, Sweden
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8
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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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9
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Dong X, Peng Y, Wang M, Woods L, Wu W, Wang Y, Xiao X, Li J, Jia K, Greening C, Shao Z, Hubert CRJ. Evolutionary ecology of microbial populations inhabiting deep sea sediments associated with cold seeps. Nat Commun 2023; 14:1127. [PMID: 36854684 PMCID: PMC9974965 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-36877-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2022] [Accepted: 02/21/2023] [Indexed: 03/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Deep sea cold seep sediments host abundant and diverse microbial populations that significantly influence biogeochemical cycles. While numerous studies have revealed their community structure and functional capabilities, little is known about genetic heterogeneity within species. Here, we examine intraspecies diversity patterns of 39 abundant species identified in sediment layers down to 430 cm below the sea floor across six cold seep sites. These populations are grouped as aerobic methane-oxidizing bacteria, anaerobic methanotrophic archaea and sulfate-reducing bacteria. Different evolutionary trajectories are observed at the genomic level among these physiologically and phylogenetically diverse populations, with generally low rates of homologous recombination and strong purifying selection. Functional genes related to methane (pmoA and mcrA) and sulfate (dsrA) metabolisms are under strong purifying selection in most species investigated. These genes differ in evolutionary trajectories across phylogenetic clades but are functionally conserved across sites. Intrapopulation diversification of genomes and their mcrA and dsrA genes is depth-dependent and subject to different selection pressure throughout the sediment column redox zones at different sites. These results highlight the interplay between ecological processes and the evolution of key bacteria and archaea in deep sea cold seep extreme environments, shedding light on microbial adaptation in the subseafloor biosphere.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiyang Dong
- Key Laboratory of Marine Genetic Resources, Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen, 361005, China.
- Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai, 519000, China.
| | - Yongyi Peng
- Key Laboratory of Marine Genetic Resources, Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen, 361005, China
- School of Marine Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Zhuhai, 519082, China
| | - Muhua Wang
- Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai, 519000, China
- School of Marine Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Zhuhai, 519082, China
| | - Laura Woods
- Department of Microbiology, Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, 3800, Australia
| | - Wenxue Wu
- Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai, 519000, China
- School of Marine Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Zhuhai, 519082, China
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China
| | - Yong Wang
- Institute for Ocean Engineering, Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - Xi Xiao
- Guangzhou Marine Geological Survey, China Geological Survey, Guangzhou, 510075, China
| | - Jiwei Li
- Institute of Deep-Sea Science and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sanya, 572000, China
| | - Kuntong Jia
- School of Marine Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Zhuhai, 519082, China
| | - Chris Greening
- Department of Microbiology, Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, 3800, Australia
| | - Zongze Shao
- Key Laboratory of Marine Genetic Resources, Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen, 361005, China.
- Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai, 519000, China.
| | - Casey R J Hubert
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada
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10
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Ngugi DK, Salcher MM, Andrei AS, Ghai R, Klotz F, Chiriac MC, Ionescu D, Büsing P, Grossart HP, Xing P, Priscu JC, Alymkulov S, Pester M. Postglacial adaptations enabled colonization and quasi-clonal dispersal of ammonia-oxidizing archaea in modern European large lakes. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadc9392. [PMID: 36724220 PMCID: PMC9891703 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adc9392] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) play a key role in the aquatic nitrogen cycle. Their genetic diversity is viewed as the outcome of evolutionary processes that shaped ancestral transition from terrestrial to marine habitats. However, current genome-wide insights into AOA evolution rarely consider brackish and freshwater representatives or provide their divergence timeline in lacustrine systems. An unbiased global assessment of lacustrine AOA diversity is critical for understanding their origins, dispersal mechanisms, and ecosystem roles. Here, we leveraged continental-scale metagenomics to document that AOA species diversity in freshwater systems is remarkably low compared to marine environments. We show that the uncultured freshwater AOA, "Candidatus Nitrosopumilus limneticus," is ubiquitous and genotypically static in various large European lakes where it evolved 13 million years ago. We find that extensive proteome remodeling was a key innovation for freshwater colonization of AOA. These findings reveal the genetic diversity and adaptive mechanisms of a keystone species that has survived clonally in lakes for millennia.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Kamanda Ngugi
- Leibniz Institute DSMZ–German Collection of Cell Microorganisms and Cell Cultures GmbH, D-38124 Braunschweig, Germany
- Corresponding author.
| | - Michaela M. Salcher
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Biology Center CAS, Na Sádkách 7, 37005 České Budejovice, Czech Republic
| | - Adrian-Stefan Andrei
- Microbial Evogenomics Lab, Limnological Station, Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Zurich, Kilchberg, Switzerland
| | - Rohit Ghai
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Biology Center CAS, Na Sádkách 7, 37005 České Budejovice, Czech Republic
| | - Franziska Klotz
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, D-78457 Constance, Germany
| | - Maria-Cecilia Chiriac
- Institute of Hydrobiology, Biology Center CAS, Na Sádkách 7, 37005 České Budejovice, Czech Republic
| | - Danny Ionescu
- Department of Experimental Limnology, Leibniz Institute for Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, D-12587 Stechlin, Germany
| | - Petra Büsing
- Leibniz Institute DSMZ–German Collection of Cell Microorganisms and Cell Cultures GmbH, D-38124 Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Hans-Peter Grossart
- Department of Experimental Limnology, Leibniz Institute for Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, D-12587 Stechlin, Germany
- Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, Potsdam University, D-14469 Potsdam, Germany
- Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research, Free University, D-14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Peng Xing
- State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China
| | - John C. Priscu
- Department of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences, Montana State University, 334 Leon Johnson Hall, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA
| | - Salmor Alymkulov
- Institute of Physics, National Academy of Sciences of Kyrgyz Republic, Chui Avenue, 265-a, Bishkek 720071, Kyrgyzstan
| | - Michael Pester
- Leibniz Institute DSMZ–German Collection of Cell Microorganisms and Cell Cultures GmbH, D-38124 Braunschweig, Germany
- Institute of Microbiology, Technical University of Braunschweig, D-38108 Braunschweig, Germany
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11
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Kokate PP, Bales E, Joyner D, Hazen TC, Techtmann SM. Biogeographic patterns in populations of marine Pseudoalteromonas atlantica isolates. FEMS Microbiol Lett 2023; 370:fnad081. [PMID: 37573136 DOI: 10.1093/femsle/fnad081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2023] [Revised: 07/14/2023] [Accepted: 08/11/2023] [Indexed: 08/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Intra-specific genomic diversity is well documented in microbes. The question, however, remains whether natural selection or neutral evolution is the major contributor to this diversity. We undertook this study to estimate genomic diversity in Pseudoalteromonas atlantica populations and whether the diversity, if present, could be attributed to environmental factors or distance effects. We isolated and sequenced twenty-three strains of P. atlantica from three geographically distant deep marine basins and performed comparative genomic analyses to study the genomic diversity of populations among these basins. Average nucleotide identity followed a strictly geographical pattern. In two out of three locations, the strains within the location exhibited >99.5% identity, whereas, among locations, the strains showed <98.11% identity. Phylogenetic and pan-genome analysis also reflected the biogeographical separation of the strains. Strains from the same location shared many accessory genes and clustered closely on the phylogenetic tree. Phenotypic diversity between populations was studied in ten out of twenty-three strains testing carbon and nitrogen source utilization and osmotolerance. A genetic basis for phenotypic diversity could be established in most cases but was apparently not influenced by local environmental conditions. Our study suggests that neutral evolution may have a substantial role in the biodiversity of P. atlantica.
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Affiliation(s)
- Prajakta P Kokate
- Department of Biological Sciences, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI 49931, United States
| | - Erika Bales
- Department of Microbiology, University of Tennessee Knoxville, Knoxville, TN 37996, United States
| | - Dominique Joyner
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Tennessee Knoxville, Knoxville, TN 37996, United States
| | - Terry C Hazen
- Department of Microbiology, University of Tennessee Knoxville, Knoxville, TN 37996, United States
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Tennessee Knoxville, Knoxville, TN 37996, United States
| | - Stephen M Techtmann
- Department of Biological Sciences, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI 49931, United States
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12
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Pinhassi J, Farnelid H, García SM, Teira E, Galand PE, Obernosterer I, Quince C, Vila-Costa M, Gasol JM, Lundin D, Andersson AF, Labrenz M, Riemann L. Functional responses of key marine bacteria to environmental change – toward genetic counselling for coastal waters. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:869093. [DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.869093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2022] [Accepted: 11/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Coastal ecosystems deteriorate globally due to human-induced stress factors, like nutrient loading and pollution. Bacteria are critical to marine ecosystems, e.g., by regulating nutrient cycles, synthesizing vitamins, or degrading pollutants, thereby providing essential ecosystem services ultimately affecting economic activities. Yet, until now bacteria are overlooked both as mediators and indicators of ecosystem health, mainly due to methodological limitations in assessing bacterial ecosystem functions. However, these limitations are largely overcome by the advances in molecular biology and bioinformatics methods for characterizing the genetics that underlie functional traits of key bacterial populations – “key” in providing important ecosystem services, being abundant, or by possessing high metabolic rates. It is therefore timely to analyze and define the functional responses of bacteria to human-induced effects on coastal ecosystem health. We posit that categorizing the responses of key marine bacterial populations to changes in environmental conditions through modern microbial oceanography methods will allow establishing the nascent field of genetic counselling for our coastal waters. This requires systematic field studies of linkages between functional traits of key bacterial populations and their ecosystem functions in coastal seas, complemented with systematic experimental analyses of the responses to different stressors. Research and training in environmental management along with dissemination of results and dialogue with societal actors are equally important to ensure the role of bacteria is understood as fundamentally important for coastal ecosystems. Using the responses of microorganisms as a tool to develop genetic counselling for coastal ecosystems can ultimately allow for integrating bacteria as indicators of environmental change.
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13
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Filek K, Lebbe L, Willems A, Chaerle P, Vyverman W, Žižek M, Bosak S. More than just hitchhikers: a survey of bacterial communities associated with diatoms originating from sea turtles. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 2022; 98:6693935. [PMID: 36073481 DOI: 10.1093/femsec/fiac104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2022] [Revised: 07/15/2022] [Accepted: 09/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Diatoms and bacteria are known for being the first colonizers of submerged surfaces including the skin of marine reptiles. Sea turtle carapace and skin harbor diverse prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbes, including several epizoic diatoms. However, the importance of diatom-bacteria associations is hardly investigated in biofilms associated with animal hosts. This study provides an inventory of diatoms, bacteria and diatom-associated bacteria originating from loggerhead sea turtles using both metabarcoding and culturing approaches. Amplicon sequencing of the carapace and skin samples chloroplast gene rbcL and 16S rRNA gene detected, in total, 634 diatom amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) and 3661 bacterial ASVs, indicating high diversity. Cultures of putative epizoic and non-epizoic diatoms contained 458 bacterial ASVs and their bacterial assemblages reflected those of their host. Diatom strains allowed for enrichment and isolation of bacterial families rarely observed on turtles, such as Marinobacteraceae, Alteromonadaceae and Alcanivoracaceae. When accounting for phylogenetic relationships between bacterial ASVs, we observed that related diatom genera might retain similar microbial taxa in culture, regardless of the turtle's skin or carapace source. These data provide deeper insights into the sea turtle-associated microbial communities, and reveal the potential of epizoic biofilms as a source of novel microbes and possibly important diatom-bacteria associations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Klara Filek
- University of Zagreb, Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, Rooseveltov trg 6, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Liesbeth Lebbe
- Ghent University, Faculty of Sciences, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Laboratory of Microbiology, K.L. Ledeganckstraat 35, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Anne Willems
- Ghent University, Faculty of Sciences, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Laboratory of Microbiology, K.L. Ledeganckstraat 35, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Peter Chaerle
- Ghent University, Faculty of Sciences, Department of Biology, Protistology and Aquatic Ecology, Krijgslaan 281-S8, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Wim Vyverman
- Ghent University, Faculty of Sciences, Department of Biology, Protistology and Aquatic Ecology, Krijgslaan 281-S8, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Marta Žižek
- University of Zagreb, Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, Rooseveltov trg 6, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Sunčica Bosak
- University of Zagreb, Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, Rooseveltov trg 6, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
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14
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Long-Read-Resolved, Ecosystem-Wide Exploration of Nucleotide and Structural Microdiversity of Lake Bacterioplankton Genomes. mSystems 2022; 7:e0043322. [PMID: 35938717 PMCID: PMC9426551 DOI: 10.1128/msystems.00433-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Reconstruction of metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) has become a fundamental approach in microbial ecology. However, a MAG is hardly complete and overlooks genomic microdiversity because metagenomic assembly fails to resolve microvariants among closely related genotypes. Aiming at understanding the universal factors that drive or constrain prokaryotic genome diversification, we performed an ecosystem-wide high-resolution metagenomic exploration of microdiversity by combining spatiotemporal (2 depths × 12 months) sampling from a pelagic freshwater system, high-quality MAG reconstruction using long- and short-read metagenomic sequences, and profiling of single nucleotide variants (SNVs) and structural variants (SVs) through mapping of short and long reads to the MAGs, respectively. We reconstructed 575 MAGs, including 29 circular assemblies, providing high-quality reference genomes of freshwater bacterioplankton. Read mapping against these MAGs identified 100 to 101,781 SNVs/Mb and 0 to 305 insertions, 0 to 467 deletions, 0 to 41 duplications, and 0 to 6 inversions for each MAG. Nonsynonymous SNVs were accumulated in genes potentially involved in cell surface structural modification to evade phage recognition. Most (80.2%) deletions overlapped with a gene coding region, and genes of prokaryotic defense systems were most frequently (>8% of the genes) overlapped with a deletion. Some such deletions exhibited a monthly shift in their allele frequency, suggesting a rapid turnover of genotypes in response to phage predation. MAGs with extremely low microdiversity were either rare or opportunistic bloomers, suggesting that population persistency is key to their genomic diversification. The results concluded that prokaryotic genomic diversification is driven primarily by viral load and constrained by a population bottleneck. IMPORTANCE Identifying intraspecies genomic diversity (microdiversity) is crucial to understanding microbial ecology and evolution. However, microdiversity among environmental assemblages is not well investigated, because most microbes are difficult to culture. In this study, we performed cultivation-independent exploration of bacterial genomic microdiversity in a lake ecosystem using a combination of short- and long-read metagenomic analyses. The results revealed the broad spectrum of genomic microdiversity among the diverse bacterial species in the ecosystem, which has been overlooked by conventional approaches. Our ecosystem-wide exploration further allowed comparative analysis among the genomes and genes and revealed factors behind microbial genomic diversification, namely, that diversification is driven primarily by resistance against viral infection and constrained by the population size.
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15
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Differentiated Evolutionary Strategies of Genetic Diversification in Atlantic and Pacific Thaumarchaeal Populations. mSystems 2022; 7:e0147721. [PMID: 35695431 PMCID: PMC9239043 DOI: 10.1128/msystems.01477-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Some marine microbes are seemingly “ubiquitous,” thriving across a wide range of environmental conditions. While the increased depth in metagenomic sequencing has led to a growing body of research on within-population heterogeneity in environmental microbial populations, there have been fewer systematic comparisons and characterizations of population-level genetic diversity over broader expanses of time and space. Here, we investigated the factors that govern the diversification of ubiquitous microbial taxa found within and between ocean basins. Specifically, we use mapped metagenomic paired reads to examine the genetic diversity of ammonia-oxidizing archaeal (“Candidatus Nitrosopelagicus brevis”) populations in the Pacific (Hawaii Ocean Time-series [HOT]) and Atlantic (Bermuda Atlantic Time Series [BATS]) Oceans sampled over 2 years. We observed higher nucleotide diversity in “Ca. N. brevis” at HOT, driven by a higher rate of homologous recombination. In contrast, “Ca. N. brevis” at BATS featured a more open pangenome with a larger set of genes that were specific to BATS, suggesting a history of dynamic gene gain and loss events. Furthermore, we identified highly differentiated genes that were regulatory in function, some of which exhibited evidence of recent selective sweeps. These findings indicate that different modes of genetic diversification likely incur specific adaptive advantages depending on the selective pressures that they are under. Within-population diversity generated by the environment-specific strategies of genetic diversification is likely key to the ecological success of “Ca. N. brevis.” IMPORTANCE Ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) are one of the most abundant chemolithoautotrophic microbes in the marine water column and are major contributors to global carbon and nitrogen cycling. Despite their ecological importance and geographical pervasiveness, there have been limited systematic comparisons and characterizations of their population-level genetic diversity over time and space. Here, we use metagenomic time series from two ocean observatories to address the fundamental questions of how abiotic and biotic factors shape the population-level genetic diversity and how natural microbial populations adapt across diverse habitats. We show that the marine AOA “Candidatus Nitrosopelagicus brevis” in different ocean basins exhibits distinct modes of genetic diversification in response to their selective regimes shaped by nutrient availability and patterns of environmental fluctuations. Our findings specific to “Ca. N. brevis” have broader implications, particularly in understanding the population-level responses to the changing climate and predicting its impact on biogeochemical cycles.
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16
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Evolution of Phytoplankton as Estimated from Genetic Diversity. JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/jmse10040456] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
Phytoplankton are photosynthetic, single-celled organisms producing almost half of all oxygen on Earth and play a central role as prey for higher organisms, making them irreplaceable in the marine food web. As Global Change proceeds, imposing rapidly intensifying selection pressures, phytoplankton are forced to undergo evolution, local extinction, or redistribution, with potentially cascading effects throughout the marine ecosystem. Recent results from the field of population genetics display high levels of standing genetic diversity in natural phytoplankton populations, providing ample ‘evolutionary options’ and implying high adaptive potential to changing conditions. This potential for adaptive evolution is realized in several studies of experimental evolution, even though most of these studies investigate the evolution of only single strains. This, however, shows that phytoplankton not only evolve from standing genetic diversity, but also rely on de novo mutations. Recent global sampling campaigns show that the immense intraspecific diversity of phytoplankton in the marine ecosystem has been significantly underestimated, meaning we are only studying a minor portion of the relevant variability in the context of Global Change and evolution. An increased understanding of genomic diversity is primarily hampered by the low number of ecologically representative reference genomes of eukaryotic phytoplankton and the functional annotation of these. However, emerging technologies relying on metagenome and transcriptome data may offer a more realistic understanding of phytoplankton diversity.
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17
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Van Rossum T, Costea PI, Paoli L, Alves R, Thielemann R, Sunagawa S, Bork P. metaSNV v2: detection of SNVs and subspecies in prokaryotic metagenomes. Bioinformatics 2021; 38:1162-1164. [PMID: 34791031 PMCID: PMC8796361 DOI: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btab789] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2021] [Revised: 10/12/2021] [Accepted: 11/14/2021] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
SUMMARY Taxonomic analysis of microbial communities is well supported at the level of species and strains. However, species can contain significant phenotypic diversity and strains are rarely widely shared across global populations. Stratifying the diversity between species and strains can identify 'subspecies', which are a useful intermediary. High-throughput identification and profiling of subspecies is not yet supported in the microbiome field. Here, we use an operational definition of subspecies based on single nucleotide variant (SNV) patterns within species to identify and profile subspecies in metagenomes, along with their distinctive SNVs and genes. We incorporate this method into metaSNV v2, which extends existing SNV-calling software to support further SNV interpretation for population genetics. These new features support microbiome analyses to link SNV profiles with host phenotype or environment and niche-specificity. We demonstrate subspecies identification in marine and fecal metagenomes. In the latter, we analyze 70 species in 7524 adult and infant subjects, supporting a common subspecies population structure in the human gut microbiome and illustrating some limits in subspecies calling. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION Source code, documentation, tutorials and test data are available at https://github.com/metasnv-tool/metaSNV and https://metasnv.embl.de. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thea Van Rossum
- Structural and Computational Biology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Paul I Costea
- Structural and Computational Biology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Lucas Paoli
- Department of Biology, Institute of Microbiology and Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Renato Alves
- Structural and Computational Biology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Roman Thielemann
- Structural and Computational Biology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Shinichi Sunagawa
- Department of Biology, Institute of Microbiology and Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Peer Bork
- To whom correspondence should be addressed.
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