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Nagakura T, Morono Y, Ito M, Mangelsdorf K, Pötz S, Schnabel E, Kallmeyer J. Microbial anabolic and catabolic utilization of hydrocarbons in deep subseafloor sediments of Guaymas Basin. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 2024; 100:fiae093. [PMID: 38955392 PMCID: PMC11250447 DOI: 10.1093/femsec/fiae093] [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: 02/26/2024] [Revised: 06/02/2024] [Accepted: 07/01/2024] [Indexed: 07/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Guaymas Basin, located in the Gulf of California, is a hydrothermally active marginal basin. Due to steep geothermal gradients and localized heating by sill intrusions, microbial substrates like short-chain fatty acids and hydrocarbons are abiotically produced from sedimentary organic matter at comparatively shallow depths. We analyzed the effect of hydrocarbons on uptake of hydrocarbons by microorganisms via nano-scale secondary ion mass spectrometry (NanoSIMS) and microbial sulfate reduction rates (SRR), using samples from two drill sites sampled by IODP Expedition 385 (U1545C and U1546D). These sites are in close proximity of each other (ca. 1 km) and have very similar sedimentology. Site U1546D experienced the intrusion of a sill that has since then thermally equilibrated with the surrounding sediment. Both sites currently have an identical geothermal gradient, despite their different thermal history. The localized heating by the sill led to thermal cracking of sedimentary organic matter and formation of potentially bioavailable organic substrates. There were low levels of hydrocarbon and nitrogen uptake in some samples from both sites, mostly in surficial samples. Hydrocarbon and methane additions stimulated SRR in near-seafloor samples from Site U1545C, while samples from Site U1546D reacted positively only on methane. Our data indicate the potential of microorganisms to metabolize hydrocarbons even in the deep subsurface of Guaymas Basin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Toshiki Nagakura
- GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Section Geomicrobiology, Telegrafenberg, 14473 Potsdam, Germany
| | - Yuki Morono
- JAMSTEC Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Kochi Institute for Core Sample Research, 200 Monobe Otsu, 783-8502 Nankoku, Kochi, Japan
| | - Motoo Ito
- JAMSTEC Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Kochi Institute for Core Sample Research, 200 Monobe Otsu, 783-8502 Nankoku, Kochi, Japan
| | - Kai Mangelsdorf
- GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Section Organic Geochemistry, Telegrafenberg, 14473 Potsdam, Germany
| | - Stefanie Pötz
- GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Section Organic Geochemistry, Telegrafenberg, 14473 Potsdam, Germany
| | - Ellen Schnabel
- GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Section Geomicrobiology, Telegrafenberg, 14473 Potsdam, Germany
| | - Jens Kallmeyer
- GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Section Geomicrobiology, Telegrafenberg, 14473 Potsdam, Germany
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Zhang C, Peng Y, Liu X, Wang J, Dong X. Deep-sea microbial genetic resources: new frontiers for bioprospecting. Trends Microbiol 2024; 32:321-324. [PMID: 38290879 DOI: 10.1016/j.tim.2024.01.002] [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: 11/20/2023] [Revised: 01/07/2024] [Accepted: 01/08/2024] [Indexed: 02/01/2024]
Abstract
Deep-sea ecosystems are home to a diverse community of microorganisms. These microbes are not only fundamental to ecological processes but also a treasure trove of natural products and enzymes with significant scientific and industrial applications. This forum focuses on the vast diversity of deep-sea microbes and their potential for bioprospecting. It also discusses threats posed by climate change and deep-sea mining to deep-sea microbial genetic resources, and proposes future research directions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chuwen Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Marine Genetic Resources, Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen, China
| | - Yongyi Peng
- Key Laboratory of Marine Genetic Resources, Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen, China; School of Marine Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Zhuhai, China
| | - Xinyue Liu
- Key Laboratory of Marine Genetic Resources, Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen, China
| | - Jieni Wang
- Key Laboratory of Marine Genetic Resources, Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen, China
| | - Xiyang Dong
- Key Laboratory of Marine Genetic Resources, Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen, China; Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai, China.
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Hinkle JE, Mara P, Beaudoin DJ, Edgcomb VP, Teske AP. A PCR-Based Survey of Methane-Cycling Archaea in Methane-Soaked Subsurface Sediments of Guaymas Basin, Gulf of California. Microorganisms 2023; 11:2956. [PMID: 38138100 PMCID: PMC10745291 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11122956] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2023] [Revised: 12/01/2023] [Accepted: 12/07/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023] Open
Abstract
The Guaymas Basin in the Gulf of California is characterized by active seafloor spreading, the rapid deposition of organic-rich sediments, steep geothermal gradients, and abundant methane of mixed thermogenic and microbial origin. Subsurface sediment samples from eight drilling sites with distinct geochemical and thermal profiles were selected for DNA extraction and PCR amplification to explore the diversity of methane-cycling archaea in the Guaymas Basin subsurface. We performed PCR amplifications with general (mcrIRD), and ANME-1 specific primers that target the alpha (α) subunit of methyl coenzyme M reductase (mcrA). Diverse ANME-1 lineages associated with anaerobic methane oxidation were detected in seven out of the eight drilling sites, preferentially around the methane-sulfate interface, and in several cases, showed preferences for specific sampling sites. Phylogenetically, most ANME-1 sequences from the Guaymas Basin subsurface were related to marine mud volcanoes, seep sites, and the shallow marine subsurface. The most frequently recovered methanogenic phylotypes were closely affiliated with the hyperthermophilic Methanocaldococcaceae, and found at the hydrothermally influenced Ringvent site. The coolest drilling site, in the northern axial trough of Guaymas Basin, yielded the greatest diversity in methanogen lineages. Our survey indicates the potential for extensive microbial methane cycling within subsurface sediments of Guaymas Basin.
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Affiliation(s)
- John E. Hinkle
- Department of Earth, Marine and Environmental Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Paraskevi Mara
- Department of Geology and Geophysics, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Falmouth, MA 02543, USA; (P.M.); (D.J.B.); (V.P.E.)
| | - David J. Beaudoin
- Department of Geology and Geophysics, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Falmouth, MA 02543, USA; (P.M.); (D.J.B.); (V.P.E.)
| | - Virginia P. Edgcomb
- Department of Geology and Geophysics, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Falmouth, MA 02543, USA; (P.M.); (D.J.B.); (V.P.E.)
| | - Andreas P. Teske
- Department of Earth, Marine and Environmental Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
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Mara P, Geller-McGrath D, Edgcomb V, Beaudoin D, Morono Y, Teske A. Metagenomic profiles of archaea and bacteria within thermal and geochemical gradients of the Guaymas Basin deep subsurface. Nat Commun 2023; 14:7768. [PMID: 38012208 PMCID: PMC10681998 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43296-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2023] [Accepted: 11/02/2023] [Indexed: 11/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Previous studies of microbial communities in subseafloor sediments reported that microbial abundance and diversity decrease with sediment depth and age, and microbes dominating at depth tend to be a subset of the local seafloor community. However, the existence of geographically widespread, subsurface-adapted specialists is also possible. Here, we use metagenomic and metatranscriptomic analyses of the hydrothermally heated, sediment layers of Guaymas Basin (Gulf of California, Mexico) to examine the distribution and activity patterns of bacteria and archaea along thermal, geochemical and cell count gradients. We find that the composition and distribution of metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs), dominated by numerous lineages of Chloroflexota and Thermoproteota, correlate with biogeochemical parameters as long as temperatures remain moderate, but downcore increasing temperatures beyond ca. 45 ºC override other factors. Consistently, MAG size and diversity decrease with increasing temperature, indicating a downcore winnowing of the subsurface biosphere. By contrast, specific archaeal MAGs within the Thermoproteota and Hadarchaeota increase in relative abundance and in recruitment of transcriptome reads towards deeper, hotter sediments, marking the transition towards a specialized deep, hot biosphere.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paraskevi Mara
- Geology and Geophysics Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, 02543, USA
| | - David Geller-McGrath
- Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, 02543, USA
| | - Virginia Edgcomb
- Geology and Geophysics Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, 02543, USA
| | - David Beaudoin
- Geology and Geophysics Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, 02543, USA
| | - Yuki Morono
- Kochi Institute for Core Sample Research, Institute for Extra-cutting-edge Science and Technology Avantgarde Research (X-STAR), Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), Monobe, Nankoku, Kochi, Japan
| | - Andreas Teske
- Department of Earth, Marine and Environmental Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA.
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