1
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von Kügelgen A, Cassidy CK, van Dorst S, Pagani LL, Batters C, Ford Z, Löwe J, Alva V, Stansfeld PJ, Bharat TAM. Membraneless channels sieve cations in ammonia-oxidizing marine archaea. Nature 2024; 630:230-236. [PMID: 38811725 PMCID: PMC11153153 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07462-5] [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: 01/13/2023] [Accepted: 04/24/2024] [Indexed: 05/31/2024]
Abstract
Nitrosopumilus maritimus is an ammonia-oxidizing archaeon that is crucial to the global nitrogen cycle1,2. A critical step for nitrogen oxidation is the entrapment of ammonium ions from a dilute marine environment at the cell surface and their subsequent channelling to the cell membrane of N. maritimus. Here we elucidate the structure of the molecular machinery responsible for this process, comprising the surface layer (S-layer), using electron cryotomography and subtomogram averaging from cells. We supplemented our in situ structure of the ammonium-binding S-layer array with a single-particle electron cryomicroscopy structure, revealing detailed features of this immunoglobulin-rich and glycan-decorated S-layer. Biochemical analyses showed strong ammonium binding by the cell surface, which was lost after S-layer disassembly. Sensitive bioinformatic analyses identified similar S-layers in many ammonia-oxidizing archaea, with conserved sequence and structural characteristics. Moreover, molecular simulations and structure determination of ammonium-enriched specimens enabled us to examine the cation-binding properties of the S-layer, revealing how it concentrates ammonium ions on its cell-facing side, effectively acting as a multichannel sieve on the cell membrane. This in situ structural study illuminates the biogeochemically essential process of ammonium binding and channelling, common to many marine microorganisms that are fundamental to the nitrogen cycle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andriko von Kügelgen
- Structural Studies Division, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, UK
- Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - C Keith Cassidy
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, MO, USA
| | - Sofie van Dorst
- Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Lennart L Pagani
- Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Christopher Batters
- Protein and Nucleic Acid Chemistry Division, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, UK
| | - Zephyr Ford
- Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Jan Löwe
- Structural Studies Division, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, UK
| | - Vikram Alva
- Department of Protein Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Phillip J Stansfeld
- School of Life Sciences and Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK
| | - Tanmay A M Bharat
- Structural Studies Division, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, UK.
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2
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Chaudhary DK, Seo D, Han S, Hong Y. Distribution of mercury in modern bottom sediments of the Beaufort Sea in relation to the processes of early diagenesis: Microbiological aspect. MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN 2024; 202:116300. [PMID: 38555803 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.116300] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2023] [Revised: 02/23/2024] [Accepted: 03/24/2024] [Indexed: 04/02/2024]
Abstract
This study investigated the contents of total mercury (THg), trace metals, and CH4 and determined the signature microbes involved in various biogeochemical processes in the sediment of the Canadian Beaufort Sea. The THg ranged between 32 and 63 μg/kg and the trace metals such as Fe, Al, Mn, and Zn were significant in distributions. The pH, SO42-, Fe2+, and redox proxy metals were crucial factors in the spatial and vertical heterogeneity of geochemical distributions. CH4 was detected only at the mud volcano site. Microbial analyses identified Clostridium, Desulfosporosinus, Desulfofustis, and Desulftiglans as the predominant Hg methylators and sulfate reducers; Nitrosopumilus and Hyphomicrobium as the major nitrifiers and denitrifiers; Methanosarcina and Methanosaeta as keystone methanogens; and Methyloceanibacter and Methyloprofundus as signature methanotrophs. Altogether, this study expands the current understanding of the microbiological and geochemical features and could be helpful in predicting ecosystem functions in the Canadian Beaufort Sea.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dhiraj Kumar Chaudhary
- Department of Environmental Engineering, Korea University Sejong Campus, 2511 Sejong-ro, Sejong City 30019, Republic of Korea
| | - DongGyun Seo
- Department of Environmental Engineering, Korea University Sejong Campus, 2511 Sejong-ro, Sejong City 30019, Republic of Korea
| | - Seunghee Han
- School of Earth Sciences and Environmental Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), 123 Cheomdangwagi-ro, Gwangju 61005, Republic of Korea
| | - Yongseok Hong
- Department of Environmental Engineering, Korea University Sejong Campus, 2511 Sejong-ro, Sejong City 30019, Republic of Korea.
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3
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Zhou Y, Yan A, Yang J, He W, Guo S, Li Y, Wu J, Dai Y, Pan X, Cui D, Pereira O, Teng W, Bi R, Chen S, Fan L, Wang P, Liao Y, Qin W, Sui SF, Zhu Y, Zhang C, Liu Z. Ultrastructural insights into cellular organization, energy storage and ribosomal dynamics of an ammonia-oxidizing archaeon from oligotrophic oceans. Front Microbiol 2024; 15:1367658. [PMID: 38737410 PMCID: PMC11082331 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1367658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2024] [Accepted: 04/16/2024] [Indexed: 05/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Nitrososphaeria, formerly known as Thaumarchaeota, constitute a diverse and widespread group of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) inhabiting ubiquitously in marine and terrestrial environments, playing a pivotal role in global nitrogen cycling. Despite their importance in Earth's ecosystems, the cellular organization of AOA remains largely unexplored, leading to a significant unanswered question of how the machinery of these organisms underpins metabolic functions. Methods In this study, we combined spherical-chromatic-aberration-corrected cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET), scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) to unveil the cellular organization and elemental composition of Nitrosopumilus maritimus SCM1, a representative member of marine Nitrososphaeria. Results and Discussion Our tomograms show the native ultrastructural morphology of SCM1 and one to several dense storage granules in the cytoplasm. STEM-EDS analysis identifies two types of storage granules: one type is possibly composed of polyphosphate and the other polyhydroxyalkanoate. With precise measurements using cryo-ET, we observed low quantity and density of ribosomes in SCM1 cells, which are in alignment with the documented slow growth of AOA in laboratory cultures. Collectively, these findings provide visual evidence supporting the resilience of AOA in the vast oligotrophic marine environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yangkai Zhou
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Archaea Geo-Omics, Department of Ocean Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - An Yan
- Cryo-Electron Microscopy Center, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Jiawen Yang
- Cryo-Electron Microscopy Center, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
- Department of Biology, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Wei He
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Archaea Geo-Omics, Department of Ocean Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Shuai Guo
- Cryo-Electron Microscopy Center, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
- Department of Biology, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Yifan Li
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Archaea Geo-Omics, Department of Ocean Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Jing Wu
- Cryo-Electron Microscopy Center, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Yanchao Dai
- Shanghai NanoPort, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Shanghai, China
| | - Xijiang Pan
- Shanghai NanoPort, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Shanghai, China
| | - Dongyu Cui
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Archaea Geo-Omics, Department of Ocean Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Olivier Pereira
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Archaea Geo-Omics, Department of Ocean Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
- Institut AMU-WUT, Aix-Marseille Université and Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Wenkai Teng
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Archaea Geo-Omics, Department of Ocean Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Ran Bi
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Archaea Geo-Omics, Department of Ocean Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Songze Chen
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Archaea Geo-Omics, Department of Ocean Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Lu Fan
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Archaea Geo-Omics, Department of Ocean Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Peiyi Wang
- Cryo-Electron Microscopy Center, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Yan Liao
- Australian Institute for Microbiology & Infection, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW, Australia
| | - Wei Qin
- School of Biological Sciences and Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, United States
| | - Sen-Fang Sui
- Cryo-Electron Microscopy Center, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
- State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Beijing Frontier Research Center for Biological Structures, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Structural Biology, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Yuanqing Zhu
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Archaea Geo-Omics, Department of Ocean Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
- Shanghai Sheshan National Geophysical Observatory, Shanghai, China
| | - Chuanlun Zhang
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Archaea Geo-Omics, Department of Ocean Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
- Shanghai Sheshan National Geophysical Observatory, Shanghai, China
- Advanced Institute for Ocean Research, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Zheng Liu
- Cryo-Electron Microscopy Center, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
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Li Q, Cheng X, Liu X, Gao P, Wang H, Su C, Huang Q. Ammonia-oxidizing archaea adapted better to the dark, alkaline oligotrophic karst cave than their bacterial counterparts. Front Microbiol 2024; 15:1377721. [PMID: 38659982 PMCID: PMC11041041 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1377721] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2024] [Accepted: 03/28/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Subsurface karst caves provide unique opportunities to study the deep biosphere, shedding light on microbial contribution to elemental cycling. Although ammonia oxidation driven by both ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) is well explored in soil and marine environments, our understanding in the subsurface biosphere still remained limited to date. To address this gap, weathered rock and sediment samples were collected from the Xincuntun Cave in Guilin City, an alkaline karst cave, and subjected to high-throughput sequencing and quantification of bacterial and archaeal amoA, along with determination of the potential nitrification rates (PNR). Results revealed that AOA dominated in ammonia oxidation, contributing 48-100% to the PNR, and AOA amoA gene copies outnumbered AOB by 2 to 6 orders. Nitrososphaera dominated in AOA communities, while Nitrosopira dominated AOB communities. AOA demonstrated significantly larger niche breadth than AOB. The development of AOA communities was influenced by deterministic processes (50.71%), while AOB communities were predominantly influenced by stochastic processes. TOC, NH4+, and Cl- played crucial roles in shaping the compositions of ammonia oxidizers at the OTU level. Cross-domain co-occurrence networks highlighted the dominance of AOA nodes in the networks and positive associations between AOA and AOB, especially in the inner zone, suggesting collaborative effort to thrive in extreme environments. Their high gene copies, dominance in the interaction with ammonia oxidizing bacteria, expansive niche breadth and substantial contribution to PNR collectively confirmed that AOA better adapted to alkaline, oligotrophic karst caves environments, and thus play a fundamental role in nitrogen cycling in subsurface biosphere.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qing Li
- School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, China
| | - Xiaoyu Cheng
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, China
| | - Xiaoyan Liu
- School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, China
| | - Pengfei Gao
- School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, China
| | - Hongmei Wang
- School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, China
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, China
| | - Chuntian Su
- Institute of Karst Geology, CAGS/Key Laboratory of Karst Dynamics, MNR & GZAR, Guilin, China
- Pingguo Guangxi, Karst Ecosystem, National Observation and Research Station, Pingguo, Guangxi, China
| | - Qibo Huang
- Institute of Karst Geology, CAGS/Key Laboratory of Karst Dynamics, MNR & GZAR, Guilin, China
- Pingguo Guangxi, Karst Ecosystem, National Observation and Research Station, Pingguo, Guangxi, China
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5
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Thøgersen MS, Zervas A, Stougaard P, Ellegaard-Jensen L. Investigating eukaryotic and prokaryotic diversity and functional potential in the cold and alkaline ikaite columns in Greenland. Front Microbiol 2024; 15:1358787. [PMID: 38655082 PMCID: PMC11035741 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1358787] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2023] [Accepted: 03/08/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024] Open
Abstract
The ikaite columns in the Ikka Fjord, SW Greenland, represent a permanently cold and alkaline environment known to contain a rich bacterial diversity. 16S and 18S rRNA gene amplicon and metagenomic sequencing was used to investigate the microbial diversity in the columns and for the first time, the eukaryotic and archaeal diversity in ikaite columns were analyzed. The results showed a rich prokaryotic diversity that varied across columns as well as within each column. Seven different archaeal phyla were documented in multiple locations inside the columns. The columns also contained a rich eukaryotic diversity with 27 phyla representing microalgae, protists, fungi, and small animals. Based on metagenomic sequencing, 25 high-quality MAGs were assembled and analyzed for the presence of genes involved in cycling of nitrogen, sulfur, and phosphorous as well as genes encoding carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes), showing a potentially very bioactive microbial community.
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6
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Kadam P, Khisti M, Ravishankar V, Barvkar V, Dhotre D, Sharma A, Shouche Y, Zinjarde S. Recent advances in production and applications of ectoine, a compatible solute of industrial relevance. BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY 2024; 393:130016. [PMID: 37979886 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2023.130016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2023] [Revised: 11/10/2023] [Accepted: 11/10/2023] [Indexed: 11/20/2023]
Abstract
Extremophilic bacteria growing in saline ecosystems are potential producers of biotechnologically important products including compatible solutes. Ectoine/hydroxyectoine are two such solutes that protect cells and associated macromolecules from osmotic, heat, cold and UV stress without interfering with cellular functions. Since ectoine is a high value product, overviewing strategies for improving yields become relevant. Screening of natural isolates, use of inexpensive substrates and response surface methodology approaches have been used to improve bioprocess parameters. In addition, genome mining exercises can aid in identifying hitherto unreported microorganisms with a potential to produce ectoine that can be exploited in the future. Application wise, ectoine has various biotechnological (protein protectant, membrane modulator, DNA protectant, cryoprotective agent, wastewater treatment) and biomedical (dermatoprotectant and in overcoming respiratory and hypersensitivity diseases) uses. The review summarizes current updates on the potential of microorganisms in the production of this industrially relevant metabolite and its varied applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pratik Kadam
- Department of Biotechnology (with jointly merged Institute of Bioinformatics and Biotechnology), Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune,411007, India
| | - Mitesh Khisti
- Department of Biotechnology (with jointly merged Institute of Bioinformatics and Biotechnology), Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune,411007, India
| | - Varun Ravishankar
- Department of Biotechnology (with jointly merged Institute of Bioinformatics and Biotechnology), Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune,411007, India
| | - Vitthal Barvkar
- Department of Botany, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune,411007, India
| | - Dhiraj Dhotre
- National Center for Microbial Resource (NCMR), National Center for Cell Science (NCCS), Pune,411007, India
| | - Avinash Sharma
- National Center for Microbial Resource (NCMR), National Center for Cell Science (NCCS), Pune,411007, India; School of Agriculture, Graphic Era Hill University, Dehradun, India
| | - Yogesh Shouche
- National Center for Microbial Resource (NCMR), National Center for Cell Science (NCCS), Pune,411007, India; SKAN Research Center, Bengaluru, India
| | - Smita Zinjarde
- Department of Biotechnology (with jointly merged Institute of Bioinformatics and Biotechnology), Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune,411007, India.
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7
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Qin W, Wei SP, Zheng Y, Choi E, Li X, Johnston J, Wan X, Abrahamson B, Flinkstrom Z, Wang B, Li H, Hou L, Tao Q, Chlouber WW, Sun X, Wells M, Ngo L, Hunt KA, Urakawa H, Tao X, Wang D, Yan X, Wang D, Pan C, Weber PK, Jiang J, Zhou J, Zhang Y, Stahl DA, Ward BB, Mayali X, Martens-Habbena W, Winkler MKH. Ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and archaea exhibit differential nitrogen source preferences. Nat Microbiol 2024; 9:524-536. [PMID: 38297167 DOI: 10.1038/s41564-023-01593-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2023] [Accepted: 12/15/2023] [Indexed: 02/02/2024]
Abstract
Ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms (AOM) contribute to one of the largest nitrogen fluxes in the global nitrogen budget. Four distinct lineages of AOM: ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA), beta- and gamma-proteobacterial ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (β-AOB and γ-AOB) and complete ammonia oxidizers (comammox), are thought to compete for ammonia as their primary nitrogen substrate. In addition, many AOM species can utilize urea as an alternative energy and nitrogen source through hydrolysis to ammonia. How the coordination of ammonia and urea metabolism in AOM influences their ecology remains poorly understood. Here we use stable isotope tracing, kinetics and transcriptomics experiments to show that representatives of the AOM lineages employ distinct regulatory strategies for ammonia or urea utilization, thereby minimizing direct substrate competition. The tested AOA and comammox species preferentially used ammonia over urea, while β-AOB favoured urea utilization, repressed ammonia transport in the presence of urea and showed higher affinity for urea than for ammonia. Characterized γ-AOB co-utilized both substrates. These results reveal contrasting niche adaptation and coexistence patterns among the major AOM lineages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Qin
- School of Biological Sciences, Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA.
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
| | - Stephany P Wei
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Yue Zheng
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China
| | - Eunkyung Choi
- Department of Microbiology and Cell Science, Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center, University of Florida, Davie, FL, USA
| | - Xiangpeng Li
- School of Biological Sciences, Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
| | | | - Xianhui Wan
- Department of Geosciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Britt Abrahamson
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Zachary Flinkstrom
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Baozhan Wang
- College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Hanyan Li
- School of Biological Sciences, Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
| | - Lei Hou
- School of Biological Sciences, Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China
| | - Qing Tao
- School of Biological Sciences, Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
| | - Wyatt W Chlouber
- School of Biological Sciences, Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
| | - Xin Sun
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Michael Wells
- School of Biological Sciences, Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
| | - Long Ngo
- School of Biological Sciences, Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
| | - Kristopher A Hunt
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Hidetoshi Urakawa
- Department of Ecology and Environmental Studies, Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, FL, USA
| | - Xuanyu Tao
- School of Biological Sciences, Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
| | - Dongyu Wang
- School of Biological Sciences, Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
| | - Xiaoyuan Yan
- State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China
| | - Dazhi Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China
| | - Chongle Pan
- School of Biological Sciences, Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
| | - Peter K Weber
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA
| | - Jiandong Jiang
- College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Jizhong Zhou
- School of Biological Sciences, Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA
| | - Yao Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China
| | - David A Stahl
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Bess B Ward
- Department of Geosciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Xavier Mayali
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA
| | - Willm Martens-Habbena
- Department of Microbiology and Cell Science, Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center, University of Florida, Davie, FL, USA.
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8
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Zheng Y, Wang B, Gao P, Yang Y, Xu B, Su X, Ning D, Tao Q, Li Q, Zhao F, Wang D, Zhang Y, Li M, Winkler MKH, Ingalls AE, Zhou J, Zhang C, Stahl DA, Jiang J, Martens-Habbena W, Qin W. Novel order-level lineage of ammonia-oxidizing archaea widespread in marine and terrestrial environments. THE ISME JOURNAL 2024; 18:wrad002. [PMID: 38365232 PMCID: PMC10811736 DOI: 10.1093/ismejo/wrad002] [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: 10/20/2023] [Revised: 11/03/2023] [Accepted: 10/28/2023] [Indexed: 02/18/2024]
Abstract
Ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) are among the most ubiquitous and abundant archaea on Earth, widely distributed in marine, terrestrial, and geothermal ecosystems. However, the genomic diversity, biogeography, and evolutionary process of AOA populations in subsurface environments are vastly understudied compared to those in marine and soil systems. Here, we report a novel AOA order Candidatus (Ca.) Nitrosomirales which forms a sister lineage to the thermophilic Ca. Nitrosocaldales. Metagenomic and 16S rRNA gene-read mapping demonstrates the abundant presence of Nitrosomirales AOA in various groundwater environments and their widespread distribution across a range of geothermal, terrestrial, and marine habitats. Terrestrial Nitrosomirales AOA show the genetic capacity of using formate as a source of reductant and using nitrate as an alternative electron acceptor. Nitrosomirales AOA appear to have acquired key metabolic genes and operons from other mesophilic populations via horizontal gene transfer, including genes encoding urease, nitrite reductase, and V-type ATPase. The additional metabolic versatility conferred by acquired functions may have facilitated their radiation into a variety of subsurface, marine, and soil environments. We also provide evidence that each of the four AOA orders spans both marine and terrestrial habitats, which suggests a more complex evolutionary history for major AOA lineages than previously proposed. Together, these findings establish a robust phylogenomic framework of AOA and provide new insights into the ecology and adaptation of this globally abundant functional guild.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yue Zheng
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China
| | - Baozhan Wang
- Department of Microbiology, Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Environmental Microbiology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
| | - Ping Gao
- Department of Microbiology, Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Environmental Microbiology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
| | - Yiyan Yang
- National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20894, United States
| | - Bu Xu
- Department of Ocean Science and Engineering, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Archaea Geo-Omics, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
- Shanghai Sheshan National Geophysical Observatory , Shanghai 201602, China
| | - Xiaoquan Su
- College of Computer Science and Technology, Qingdao University , Qingdao 266101, China
| | - Daliang Ning
- School of Biological Sciences, Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019, United States
| | - Qing Tao
- School of Biological Sciences, Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019, United States
| | - Qian Li
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China
| | - Feng Zhao
- CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China
| | - Dazhi Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China
| | - Yao Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China
| | - Meng Li
- Archaeal Biology Center, Institute for Advanced Study, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China
| | - Mari-K H Winkler
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, United States
| | - Anitra E Ingalls
- School of Oceanography, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, United States
| | - Jizhong Zhou
- School of Biological Sciences, Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019, United States
- School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019, United States
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States
| | - Chuanlun Zhang
- Department of Ocean Science and Engineering, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Archaea Geo-Omics, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
- Shanghai Sheshan National Geophysical Observatory , Shanghai 201602, China
| | - David A Stahl
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, United States
| | - Jiandong Jiang
- Department of Microbiology, Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Environmental Microbiology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
| | - Willm Martens-Habbena
- Department of Microbiology and Cell Science, Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center, University of Florida, Davie, FL 33314, United States
| | - Wei Qin
- School of Biological Sciences, Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019, United States
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9
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Liu Q, Chen Y, Xu XW. Genomic insight into strategy, interaction and evolution of nitrifiers in metabolizing key labile-dissolved organic nitrogen in different environmental niches. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1273211. [PMID: 38156017 PMCID: PMC10753782 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1273211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2023] [Accepted: 11/09/2023] [Indexed: 12/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and bacteria (AOB), nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB), and complete ammonia oxidizers (comammox) are responsible for nitrification in nature; however, some groups have been reported to utilize labile-dissolved organic nitrogen (LDON) for satisfying nitrogen demands. To understand the universality of their capacity of LDON metabolism, we collected 70 complete genomes of AOA, AOB, NOB, and comammox from typical environments for exploring their potentials in the metabolism of representative LDON (urea, polyamines, cyanate, taurine, glycine betaine, and methylamine). Genomic analyses showed that urea was the most popular LDON used by nitrifiers. Each group harbored unique urea transporter genes (AOA: dur3 and utp, AOB: utp, and NOB and comammox: urtABCDE and utp) accompanied by urease genes ureABC. The differentiation in the substrate affinity of these transporters implied the divergence of urea utilization efficiency in nitrifiers, potentially driving them into different niches. The cyanate transporter (cynABD and focA/nirC) and degradation (cynS) genes were detected mostly in NOB, indicating their preference for a wide range of nitrogen substrates to satisfy high nitrogen demands. The lack of genes involved in the metabolism of polyamines, taurine, glycine betaine, and methylamines in most of nitrifiers suggested that they were not able to serve as a source of ammonium, only if they were degraded or oxidized extracellularly as previously reported. The phylogenetic analyses assisted with comparisons of GC% and the Codon Adaptation Index between target genes and whole genomes of nitrifiers implied that urea metabolic genes dur3 and ureC in AOA evolved independently from bacteria during the transition from Thaumarchaeota to AOA, while utp in terrestrial AOA was acquired from bacteria via lateral gene transfer (LGT). Cyanate transporter genes cynS and focA/nirC detected only in a terrestrial AOA Candidadus Nitrsosphaera gargensis Ga9.2 could be gained synchronously with Nitrospira of NOB by an ancient LGT. Our results indicated that LDON utilization was a common feature in nitrifiers, but metabolic potentials were different among nitrifiers, possibly being intensely interacted with their niches, survival strategies, and evolutions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qian Liu
- Donghai Laboratory, Zhoushan, Zhejiang, China
- Key Laboratory of Marine Ecosystem Dynamics, Second Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- Ocean College, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Yuhao Chen
- Key Laboratory of Marine Ecosystem Dynamics, Second Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- School of Oceanography, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xue-Wei Xu
- Key Laboratory of Marine Ecosystem Dynamics, Second Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- Ocean College, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
- School of Oceanography, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
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10
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Beauvais M, Schatt P, Montiel L, Logares R, Galand PE, Bouget FY. Functional redundancy of seasonal vitamin B 12 biosynthesis pathways in coastal marine microbial communities. Environ Microbiol 2023; 25:3753-3770. [PMID: 38031968 DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.16545] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2023] [Accepted: 11/15/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023]
Abstract
Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) is a major cofactor required by most marine microbes, but only produced by a few prokaryotes in the ocean, which is globally B12 -depleted. Despite the ecological importance of B12 , the seasonality of B12 metabolisms and the organisms involved in its synthesis in the ocean remain poorly known. Here we use metagenomics to assess the monthly dynamics of B12 -related pathways and the functional diversity of associated microbial communities in the coastal NW Mediterranean Sea over 7 years. We show that genes related to potential B12 metabolisms were characterized by an annual succession of different organisms carrying distinct production pathways. During the most productive winter months, archaea (Nitrosopumilus and Nitrosopelagicus) were the main contributors to B12 synthesis potential through the anaerobic pathway (cbi genes). In turn, Alphaproteobacteria (HIMB11, UBA8309, Puniceispirillum) contributed to B12 synthesis potential in spring and summer through the aerobic pathway (cob genes). Cyanobacteria could produce pseudo-cobalamin from spring to autumn. Finally, we show that during years with environmental perturbations, the organisms usually carrying B12 synthesis genes were replaced by others having the same gene, thus maintaining the potential for B12 production. Such ecological insurance could contribute to the long-term functional resilience of marine microbial communities exposed to contrasting inter-annual environmental conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maxime Beauvais
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Laboratoire d'Océanographie Microbienne (LOMIC), Observatoire Océanologique de Banyuls, Banyuls sur Mer, France
| | - Philippe Schatt
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Laboratoire d'Océanographie Microbienne (LOMIC), Observatoire Océanologique de Banyuls, Banyuls sur Mer, France
| | - Lidia Montiel
- Department of Marine Biology and Oceanography, Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM-CSIC), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Ramiro Logares
- Department of Marine Biology and Oceanography, Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM-CSIC), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Pierre E Galand
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Laboratoire d'Écogéochimie des Environnements Benthiques (LECOB), Observatoire Océanologique de Banyuls, Banyuls sur Mer, France
| | - François-Yves Bouget
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Laboratoire d'Océanographie Microbienne (LOMIC), Observatoire Océanologique de Banyuls, Banyuls sur Mer, France
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11
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Lange-Enyedi NT, Borsodi AK, Németh P, Czuppon G, Kovács I, Leél-Őssy S, Dobosy P, Felföldi T, Demény A, Makk J. Habitat-related variability in the morphological and taxonomic diversity of microbial communities in two Hungarian epigenic karst caves. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 2023; 99:fiad161. [PMID: 38066687 DOI: 10.1093/femsec/fiad161] [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: 06/05/2023] [Revised: 10/13/2023] [Accepted: 12/07/2023] [Indexed: 12/27/2023] Open
Abstract
The physical and chemical characteristics of the bedrock, along with the geological and hydrological conditions of karst caves may influence the taxonomic and functional diversity of prokaryotes. Most studies so far have focused on microbial communities of caves including only a few samples and have ignored the chemical heterogeneity of different habitat types such as sampling sites, dripping water, carbonate precipitates, cave walls, cave sediment and surface soils connected to the caves. The aim of the present study was to compare the morphology, the composition and physiology of the microbiota in caves with similar environmental parameters (temperature, host rock, elemental and mineral composition of speleothems) but located in different epigenic karst systems. Csodabogyós Cave and Baradla Cave (Hungary) were selected for the analysis of bacterial and archaeal communities using electron microscopy, amplicon sequencing, X-ray diffraction, and mass spectroscopic techniques. The microbial communities belonged to the phyla Pseudomonadota, Acidobacteriota, Nitrospirota and Nitrososphaerota, and they showed site-specific variation in composition and diversity. The results indicate that morphological and physiological adaptations provide survival for microorganisms according to the environment. In epigenic karst caves, prokaryotes are prone to increase their adsorption surface, cooperate in biofilms, and implement chemolithoautotrophic growth with different electron-donors and acceptors available in the microhabitats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nóra Tünde Lange-Enyedi
- Institute for Geological and Geochemical Research, HUN-REN Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences, Budaörsi út 45, H-1112 Budapest, Hungary
- Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biology, Faculty of Science, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány P. sétány 1/C, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Andrea K Borsodi
- Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biology, Faculty of Science, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány P. sétány 1/C, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary
- Institute of Aquatic Ecology, HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research, Karolina út 29, H-1113 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Péter Németh
- Institute for Geological and Geochemical Research, HUN-REN Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences, Budaörsi út 45, H-1112 Budapest, Hungary
- Research Institute of Biomolecular and Chemical Engineering, Nanolab, University of Pannonia, Egyetem út 10, H-8200 Veszprém, Hungary
| | - György Czuppon
- Institute for Geological and Geochemical Research, HUN-REN Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences, Budaörsi út 45, H-1112 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Ivett Kovács
- Institute for Geological and Geochemical Research, HUN-REN Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences, Budaörsi út 45, H-1112 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Szabolcs Leél-Őssy
- Department of Physical and Applied Geology, Faculty of Science, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány P. sétány 1/C, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Péter Dobosy
- Institute of Aquatic Ecology, HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research, Karolina út 29, H-1113 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Tamás Felföldi
- Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biology, Faculty of Science, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány P. sétány 1/C, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary
- Institute of Aquatic Ecology, HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research, Karolina út 29, H-1113 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Attila Demény
- Institute for Geological and Geochemical Research, HUN-REN Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences, Budaörsi út 45, H-1112 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Judit Makk
- Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biology, Faculty of Science, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány P. sétány 1/C, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary
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12
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Wittenborn AK, Bauersachs T, Hassenrück C, Käding K, Wäge-Recchioni J, Jürgens K, Arz HW, Kaiser J. Nitrosopumilus as main source of isoprenoid glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraether lipids in the central Baltic Sea. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1216130. [PMID: 37840736 PMCID: PMC10575479 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1216130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2023] [Accepted: 09/07/2023] [Indexed: 10/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Nitrososphaeria in the phylum Crenarchaeota, is a widespread archaeal class in the oceanic realm, playing an important role in the marine carbon and nitrogen cycle. Nitrososphaeria-derived membrane lipids, i.e., isoprenoid glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs), are commonly employed to reconstruct past water temperatures using the TetraEther indeX of 86 carbon atoms (TEX86). This index is of particular importance for the brackish Baltic Sea as to date it appears to be the only applicable organic temperature proxy. In this study, we investigated the distribution of intact and core GDGTs and their potential source organisms in the water column of three deep basins located in the central Baltic Sea to evaluate the application of TEX86. A lipidomic approach on suspended particulate matter was combined with the molecular techniques 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and CARD-FISH. The archaeal community was dominated by Nitrosopumilus (~83-100% of the total archaeal sequences). As other detected taxa known to produce GDGTs each represented less than 2% of the total archaeal sequences, Nitrosopumilus is likely the most dominant GDGT producer in the central Baltic Sea. However, the occurrence of phosphohexose (PH), instead of hexose-phosphohexose (HPH) headgroups, suggested that Nitrosopumilus in the Baltic Sea may differ physiologically from representatives of marine settings and other marginal seas, such as the Black Sea. In the Baltic Sea, Nitrosopumilus is most abundant in the suboxic zone, where intact cells peak according to both CARD-FISH data and intact polar lipid concentrations. The presented data therefore suggest that TEX86 reflects subsurface rather than surface temperature in the central Baltic Sea.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Christiane Hassenrück
- Biological Oceanography, Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research – Warnemünde (IOW), Warnemünde, Germany
| | - Katja Käding
- Biological Oceanography, Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research – Warnemünde (IOW), Warnemünde, Germany
| | - Janine Wäge-Recchioni
- Biological Oceanography, Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research – Warnemünde (IOW), Warnemünde, Germany
| | - Klaus Jürgens
- Biological Oceanography, Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research – Warnemünde (IOW), Warnemünde, Germany
| | - Helge Wolfgang Arz
- Marine Geology, Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research – Warnemünde (IOW), Warnemünde, Germany
| | - Jérôme Kaiser
- Marine Geology, Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research – Warnemünde (IOW), Warnemünde, Germany
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13
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Liu H, Liu WW, Haro-Moreno JM, Xu B, Zheng Y, Liu J, Tian J, Zhang XH, Zhou NY, Qin L, Zhu Y, Rodriguez-Valera F, Zhang C. A moderately thermophilic origin of a novel family of marine group II euryarchaeota from deep ocean. iScience 2023; 26:107664. [PMID: 37680465 PMCID: PMC10480650 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107664] [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: 09/05/2022] [Revised: 11/30/2022] [Accepted: 08/14/2023] [Indexed: 09/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Marine group II (MGII) is the most abundant planktonic heterotrophic archaea in the ocean. The evolutionary history of MGII archaea is elusive. In this study, 13 new MGII metagenome-assembled genomes were recovered from surface to the hadal zone in Challenger Deep of the Mariana Trench; four of them from the deep ocean represent a novel group. The optimal growth temperature (OGT) of the common ancestor of MGII has been estimated to be at about 60°C and OGTs of MGIIc, MGIIb, and MGIIa at 47°C-50ºC, 37°C-44ºC, and 30°C-37ºC, respectively, suggesting the adaptation of these species to different temperatures during evolution. The estimated OGT range of MGIIc was supported by experimental measurements of cloned β-galactosidase that showed optimal enzyme activity around 50°C. These results indicate that MGIIc may have originated from a common ancestor that lived in warm or even hot marine environment, such as hydrothermal vents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haodong Liu
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Archaea Geo-Omics, Department of Ocean Science & Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
- Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou 510000, China
- CAS Key Laboratory of Crust-Mantle Materials and Environments, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
- School of Global Health, Chinese Centre for Tropical Diseases Research, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China
| | - Wei-Wei Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism & School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Jose M. Haro-Moreno
- Evolutionary Genomics Group, Departamento de Producción Vegetal y Microbiología, Universidad Miguel Hernández, 03550 Alicante, Spain
| | - Bu Xu
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Archaea Geo-Omics, Department of Ocean Science & Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
- Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou 510000, China
| | - Yanfen Zheng
- College of Marine Life Sciences, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China
- Marine Agriculture Research Center, Tobacco Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Qingdao 266101, China
| | - Jiwen Liu
- College of Marine Life Sciences, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China
| | - Jiwei Tian
- Key Laboratory of Physical Oceanography, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China
| | - Xiao-Hua Zhang
- College of Marine Life Sciences, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China
| | - Ning-Yi Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism & School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Liping Qin
- CAS Key Laboratory of Crust-Mantle Materials and Environments, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
| | - Yuanqing Zhu
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Archaea Geo-Omics, Department of Ocean Science & Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
- Shanghai Sheshan National Geophysical Observatory, Shanghai Earthquake Agency, Shanghai 200062, China
| | - Francisco Rodriguez-Valera
- Evolutionary Genomics Group, Departamento de Producción Vegetal y Microbiología, Universidad Miguel Hernández, 03550 Alicante, Spain
- Laboratory for Theoretical and Computer Studies of Biological Macromolecules and Genomes, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Dolgoprudny, Russia
| | - Chuanlun Zhang
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Marine Archaea Geo-Omics, Department of Ocean Science & Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
- Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou 510000, China
- Shanghai Sheshan National Geophysical Observatory, Shanghai Earthquake Agency, Shanghai 200062, China
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14
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Hodgskiss LH, Melcher M, Kerou M, Chen W, Ponce-Toledo RI, Savvides SN, Wienkoop S, Hartl M, Schleper C. Unexpected complexity of the ammonia monooxygenase in archaea. THE ISME JOURNAL 2023; 17:588-599. [PMID: 36721060 PMCID: PMC10030591 DOI: 10.1038/s41396-023-01367-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2022] [Revised: 01/09/2023] [Accepted: 01/12/2023] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
Ammonia oxidation, as the first step of nitrification, constitutes a critical process in the global nitrogen cycle. However, fundamental knowledge of its key enzyme, the copper-dependent ammonia monooxygenase, is lacking, in particular for the environmentally abundant ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA). Here the structure of the enzyme is investigated by blue-native gel electrophoresis and proteomics from native membrane complexes of two AOA. Besides the known AmoABC subunits and the earlier predicted AmoX, two new protein subunits, AmoY and AmoZ, were identified. They are unique to AOA, highly conserved and co-regulated, and their genes are linked to other AMO subunit genes in streamlined AOA genomes. Modeling and in-gel cross-link approaches support an overall protomer structure similar to the distantly related bacterial particulate methane monooxygenase but also reveals clear differences in extracellular domains of the enzyme. These data open avenues for further structure-function studies of this ecologically important nitrification complex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Logan H Hodgskiss
- Archaea Biology and Ecogenomics Unit, Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Michael Melcher
- Archaea Biology and Ecogenomics Unit, Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Melina Kerou
- Archaea Biology and Ecogenomics Unit, Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Weiqiang Chen
- Mass Spectrometry Facility, Max Perutz Labs, Vienna BioCenter (VBC), Vienna, Austria
| | - Rafael I Ponce-Toledo
- Archaea Biology and Ecogenomics Unit, Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Savvas N Savvides
- Unit for Structural Biology, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Stefanie Wienkoop
- Molecular Systems Biology Unit, Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Markus Hartl
- Mass Spectrometry Facility, Max Perutz Labs, Vienna BioCenter (VBC), Vienna, Austria
- Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Christa Schleper
- Archaea Biology and Ecogenomics Unit, Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
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15
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Shan X, Goyal A, Gregor R, Cordero OX. Annotation-free discovery of functional groups in microbial communities. Nat Ecol Evol 2023; 7:716-724. [PMID: 36997739 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-023-02021-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2022] [Accepted: 02/16/2023] [Indexed: 04/01/2023]
Abstract
Recent studies have shown that microbial communities are composed of groups of functionally cohesive taxa whose abundance is more stable and better-associated with metabolic fluxes than that of any individual taxon. However, identifying these functional groups in a manner that is independent of error-prone functional gene annotations remains a major open problem. Here we tackle this structure-function problem by developing a novel unsupervised approach that coarse-grains taxa into functional groups, solely on the basis of the patterns of statistical variation in species abundances and functional read-outs. We demonstrate the power of this approach on three distinct datasets. On data of replicate microcosms with heterotrophic soil bacteria, our unsupervised algorithm recovered experimentally validated functional groups that divide metabolic labour and remain stable despite large variation in species composition. When leveraged against the ocean microbiome data, our approach discovered a functional group that combines aerobic and anaerobic ammonia oxidizers whose summed abundance tracks closely with nitrate concentrations in the water column. Finally, we show that our framework can enable the detection of species groups that are probably responsible for the production or consumption of metabolites abundant in animal gut microbiomes, serving as a hypothesis-generating tool for mechanistic studies. Overall, this work advances our understanding of structure-function relationships in complex microbiomes and provides a powerful approach to discover functional groups in an objective and systematic manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoyu Shan
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Akshit Goyal
- Physics of Living Systems, Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Rachel Gregor
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Otto X Cordero
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
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16
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Su L, Teske AP, MacGregor BJ, McKay LJ, Mendlovitz H, Albert D, Ma Z, Li J. Thermal Selection of Microbial Communities and Preservation of Microbial Function in Guaymas Basin Hydrothermal Sediments. Appl Environ Microbiol 2023; 89:e0001823. [PMID: 36847505 PMCID: PMC10057036 DOI: 10.1128/aem.00018-23] [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: 01/10/2023] [Accepted: 01/27/2023] [Indexed: 03/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The Guaymas Basin in the Gulf of California is characterized by active seafloor spreading, hydrothermal activity, and organic matter accumulation on the seafloor due to high sedimentation rates. In the hydrothermal sediments of Guaymas Basin, microbial community compositions and coexistence patterns change across steep gradients of temperature, potential carbon sources, and electron acceptors. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling and guanine-cytosine percentage analyses reveal that the bacterial and archaeal communities adjust compositionally to their local temperature regime. Functional inference using PICRUSt shows that microbial communities consistently maintain their predicted biogeochemical functions in different sediments. Phylogenetic profiling shows that microbial communities retain distinct sulfate-reducing, methane-oxidizing, or heterotrophic lineages within specific temperature windows. The preservation of similar biogeochemical functions across microbial lineages with different temperature adaptations stabilizes the hydrothermal microbial community in a highly dynamic environment. IMPORTANCE Hydrothermal vent sites have been widely studied to investigate novel bacteria and archaea that are adapted to these extreme environments. However, community-level analyses of hydrothermal microbial ecosystems look beyond the presence and activity of particular types of microbes and examine to what extent the entire community of bacteria and archaea is adapted to hydrothermal conditions; these include elevated temperatures, hydrothermally generated carbon sources, and inorganic electron donors and acceptors that are characteristic for hydrothermal environments. In our case study of bacterial and archaeal communities in hydrothermal sediments of Guaymas Basin, we found that sequence-inferred microbial function was maintained in differently structured bacterial and archaeal communities across different samples and thermal regimes. The resulting preservation of biogeochemical functions across thermal gradients is an important factor in explaining the consistency of the microbial core community in the dynamic sedimentary environment of Guaymas Basin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Su
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Geology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Andreas P. Teske
- Department of Marine Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Barbara J. MacGregor
- Department of Marine Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | - Luke J. McKay
- Department of Marine Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Howard Mendlovitz
- Department of Marine Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Daniel Albert
- Department of Marine Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Zhonglin Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Geology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jiangtao Li
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Geology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
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17
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Jia Y, Lahm M, Chen Q, Powers L, Gonsior M, Chen F. The Predominance of Ammonia-Oxidizing Archaea in an Oceanic Microbial Community Amended with Cyanobacterial Lysate. Microbiol Spectr 2023; 11:e0240522. [PMID: 36622233 PMCID: PMC9927567 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.02405-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
When the oligotrophic microbial community was amended with Synechococcus-derived dissolved organic matter (SDOM) and incubated under the dark condition, archaea relative abundance was initially very low but made up more than 60% of the prokaryotic community on day 60, and remained dominant for at least 9 months. The archaeal sequences were dominated by Candidatus Nitrosopumilus, the Group I.1a Thaumarchaeota. The increase of Thaumarchaeota in the dark incubation corresponded to the period of delayed ammonium oxidation upon an initially steady increase in ammonia, supporting the remarkable competency of Thaumarchaeota in energy utilization and fixation of inorganic carbon in the ocean. IMPORTANCE Thaumarchaeota, which are ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA), are mainly chemolithoautotrophs that can fix inorganic carbon to produce organic matter in the dark. Their distinctive physiological traits and high abundance in the water column indicate the significant ecological roles they play in the open ocean. In our study, we found predominant Thaumarchaeota in the microbial community amended with cyanobacteria-derived lysate under the dark condition. Furthermore, Thaumarchaeota remained dominant in the microbial community even after 1 year of incubation. Through the ammonification process, dissolved organic matter (DOM) from cyanobacterial lysate was converted to ammonium which was used as an energy source for Thaumarchaeota to fix inorganic carbon into biomass. Our study further advocates the important roles of Thaumarchaeota in the ocean's biogeochemical cycle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yufeng Jia
- Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Madeline Lahm
- Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Cambridge, Maryland, USA
| | - Qi Chen
- Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
- State Key Laboratory for Marine Environmental Science, Institute of Marine Microbes and Ecospheres, College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
- Fujian Key Laboratory of Marine Carbon Sequestration, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
| | - Leanne Powers
- Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Cambridge, Maryland, USA
- State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Department of Chemistry, Syracuse, New York, USA
| | - Michael Gonsior
- Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Cambridge, Maryland, USA
| | - Feng Chen
- Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
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18
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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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19
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Herndl GJ, Bayer B, Baltar F, Reinthaler T. Prokaryotic Life in the Deep Ocean's Water Column. ANNUAL REVIEW OF MARINE SCIENCE 2023; 15:461-483. [PMID: 35834811 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-marine-032122-115655] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The oceanic waters below a depth of 200 m represent, in terms of volume, the largest habitat of the biosphere, harboring approximately 70% of the prokaryotic biomass in the oceanic water column. These waters are characterized by low temperature, increasing hydrostatic pressure, and decreasing organic matter supply with depth. Recent methodological advances in microbial oceanography have refined our view of the ecology of prokaryotes in the dark ocean. Here, we review the ecology of prokaryotes of the dark ocean, present data on the biomass distribution and heterotrophic and chemolithoautotrophic prokaryotic production in the major oceanic basins, and highlight the phylogenetic and functional diversity of this part of the ocean. We describe the connectivity of surface and deep-water prokaryotes and the molecular adaptations of piezophilic prokaryotes to high hydrostatic pressure. We also highlight knowledge gaps in the ecology of the dark ocean's prokaryotes and their role in the biogeochemical cycles in the largest habitat of the biosphere.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerhard J Herndl
- Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria;
- Department of Marine Microbiology and Biogeochemistry, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), Utrecht University, Den Burg, The Netherlands
| | - Barbara Bayer
- Department of Microbiology and Ecosystem Science, Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Federico Baltar
- Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria;
| | - Thomas Reinthaler
- Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria;
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20
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Le Moine Bauer S, Lu GS, Goulaouic S, Puzenat V, Schouw A, Barreyre T, Pawlowsky-Glahn V, Egozcue JJ, Martelat JE, Escartin J, Amend JP, Nomikou P, Vlasopoulos O, Polymenakou P, Jørgensen SL. Structure and metabolic potential of the prokaryotic communities from the hydrothermal system of Paleochori Bay, Milos, Greece. Front Microbiol 2023; 13:1060168. [PMID: 36687571 PMCID: PMC9852839 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.1060168] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2022] [Accepted: 12/01/2022] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Shallow hydrothermal systems share many characteristics with their deep-sea counterparts, but their accessibility facilitates their study. One of the most studied shallow hydrothermal vent fields lies at Paleochori Bay off the coast of Milos in the Aegean Sea (Greece). It has been studied through extensive mapping and its physical and chemical processes have been characterized over the past decades. However, a thorough description of the microbial communities inhabiting the bay is still missing. Methods We present the first in-depth characterization of the prokaryotic communities of Paleochori Bay by sampling eight different seafloor types that are distributed along the entire gradient of hydrothermal influence. We used deep sequencing of the 16S rRNA marker gene and complemented the analysis with qPCR quantification of the 16S rRNA gene and several functional genes to gain insights into the metabolic potential of the communities. Results We found that the microbiome of the bay is strongly influenced by the hydrothermal venting, with a succession of various groups dominating the sediments from the coldest to the warmest zones. Prokaryotic diversity and abundance decrease with increasing temperature, and thermophilic archaea overtake the community. Discussion Relevant geochemical cycles of the Bay are discussed. This study expands our limited understanding of subsurface microbial communities in acidic shallow-sea hydrothermal systems and the contribution of their microbial activity to biogeochemical cycling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sven Le Moine Bauer
- Center for Deep Sea Research, Department of Earth Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway,*Correspondence: Sven Le Moine Bauer,
| | - Guang-Sin Lu
- Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean and Ecosystem Studies, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States,NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, Seattle, WA, United States
| | - Steven Goulaouic
- Center for Deep Sea Research, Department of Earth Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Valentine Puzenat
- Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, CNRS, Université Paris Cité, Paris, France
| | - Anders Schouw
- Center for Deep Sea Research, Department of Biology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Thibaut Barreyre
- Center for Deep Sea Research, Department of Earth Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Vera Pawlowsky-Glahn
- Department of Computer Science, Applied Mathematics and Statistics, University of Girona, Girona, Spain
| | - Juan José Egozcue
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University Politécnica de Cataluña, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jean-Emmanuel Martelat
- Université de Lyon, UCBL, ENSL, CNRS, Laboratoire de Géologie LGL-TPE, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Javier Escartin
- Laboratoire de Géologie (CNRS UMR8538), Ecole Normale Supérieure de Paris, PSL University, Paris, France
| | - Jan P. Amend
- Departments of Earth Sciences and Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Paraskevi Nomikou
- Faculty of Geology and Geoenvironment, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Othonas Vlasopoulos
- Faculty of Geology and Geoenvironment, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Paraskevi Polymenakou
- Institute of Marine Biology Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Hellenic Center for Marine Research, Heraklion, Greece
| | - Steffen Leth Jørgensen
- Center for Deep Sea Research, Department of Earth Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
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21
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Bayer B, McBeain K, Carlson CA, Santoro AE. Carbon content, carbon fixation yield and dissolved organic carbon release from diverse marine nitrifiers. LIMNOLOGY AND OCEANOGRAPHY 2023; 68:84-96. [PMID: 37064272 PMCID: PMC10092583 DOI: 10.1002/lno.12252] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2022] [Revised: 09/27/2022] [Accepted: 10/12/2022] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Nitrifying microorganisms, including ammonia-oxidizing archaea, ammonia-oxidizing bacteria, and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria, are the most abundant chemoautotrophs in the ocean and play an important role in the global carbon cycle by fixing dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) into biomass. The release of organic compounds by these microbes is not well quantified, but may represent an as-yet unaccounted source of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) available to marine food webs. Here, we provide measurements of cellular carbon and nitrogen quotas, DIC fixation yields and DOC release of 10 phylogenetically diverse marine nitrifiers. All investigated strains released DOC during growth, representing on average 5-15% of the fixed DIC. Changes in substrate concentration and temperature did not affect the proportion of fixed DIC released as DOC, but release rates varied between closely related species. Our results also indicate previous studies may have underestimated DIC fixation yields of marine nitrite oxidizers due to partial decoupling of nitrite oxidation from CO2 fixation, and due to lower observed yields in artificial compared to natural seawater medium. The results of this study provide critical values for biogeochemical models of the global carbon cycle, and help to further constrain the implications of nitrification-fueled chemoautotrophy for marine food-web functioning and the biological sequestration of carbon in the ocean.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara Bayer
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine BiologyUniversity of CaliforniaSanta BarbaraCalifornia
- Present address:
Department of Microbiology and Ecosystem ScienceUniversity of ViennaViennaAustria
| | - Kelsey McBeain
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine BiologyUniversity of CaliforniaSanta BarbaraCalifornia
- Present address:
Department of OceanographyUniversity of Hawai'i at ManoaHonoluluHawaii
| | - Craig A. Carlson
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine BiologyUniversity of CaliforniaSanta BarbaraCalifornia
| | - Alyson E. Santoro
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine BiologyUniversity of CaliforniaSanta BarbaraCalifornia
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22
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Melcher M, Hodgskiss LH, Mardini MA, Schleper C, Rittmann SKMR. Analysis of biomass productivity and physiology of Nitrososphaera viennensis grown in continuous culture. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1076342. [PMID: 36876066 PMCID: PMC9978112 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1076342] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2022] [Accepted: 01/17/2023] [Indexed: 02/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Microbial ammonia oxidation is the first and usually rate limiting step in nitrification and is therefore an important step in the global nitrogen cycle. Ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) play an important role in nitrification. Here, we report a comprehensive analysis of biomass productivity and the physiological response of Nitrososphaera viennensis to different ammonium and carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations aiming to understand the interplay between ammonia oxidation and CO2 fixation of N. viennensis. The experiments were performed in closed batch in serum bottles as well as in batch, fed-batch, and continuous culture in bioreactors. A reduced specific growth rate (μ) of N. viennensis was observed in batch systems in bioreactors. By increasing CO2 gassing μ could be increased to rates comparable to that of closed batch systems. Furthermore, at a high dilution rate (D) in continuous culture (≥ 0.7 of μmax) the biomass to ammonium yield (Y(X/NH3)) increased up to 81.7% compared to batch cultures. In continuous culture, biofilm formation at higher D prevented the determination of D crit. Due to changes in Y(X/NH3) and due to biofilm, nitrite concentration becomes an unreliable proxy for the cell number in continuous cultures at D towards μmax. Furthermore, the obscure nature of the archaeal ammonia oxidation prevents an interpretation in the context of Monod kinetics and thus the determination of K S. Our findings indicate that the physiological response of N. viennensis might be regulated with different enzymatic make-ups, according to the ammonium catalysis rate. We reveal novel insights into the physiology of N. viennensis that are important for biomass production and the biomass yield of AOA. Moreover, our study has implications to the field of archaea biology and microbial ecology by showing that bioprocess technology and quantitative analysis can be applied to decipher environmental factors affecting the physiology and productivity of AOA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Melcher
- Archaea Biology and Ecogenomics Division, Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Logan H Hodgskiss
- Archaea Biology and Ecogenomics Division, Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Mohammad Anas Mardini
- Archaea Biology and Ecogenomics Division, Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Christa Schleper
- Archaea Biology and Ecogenomics Division, Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Simon K-M R Rittmann
- Archaea Biology and Ecogenomics Division, Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.,Arkeon GmbH, Tulln a.d. Donau, Austria.,Archaea Physiology & Biotechnology Group, Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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23
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Nuccio EE, Blazewicz SJ, Lafler M, Campbell AN, Kakouridis A, Kimbrel JA, Wollard J, Vyshenska D, Riley R, Tomatsu A, Hestrin R, Malmstrom RR, Firestone M, Pett-Ridge J. HT-SIP: a semi-automated stable isotope probing pipeline identifies cross-kingdom interactions in the hyphosphere of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. MICROBIOME 2022; 10:199. [PMID: 36434737 PMCID: PMC9700909 DOI: 10.1186/s40168-022-01391-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2022] [Accepted: 10/04/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Linking the identity of wild microbes with their ecophysiological traits and environmental functions is a key ambition for microbial ecologists. Of many techniques that strive for this goal, Stable-isotope probing-SIP-remains among the most comprehensive for studying whole microbial communities in situ. In DNA-SIP, actively growing microorganisms that take up an isotopically heavy substrate build heavier DNA, which can be partitioned by density into multiple fractions and sequenced. However, SIP is relatively low throughput and requires significant hands-on labor. We designed and tested a semi-automated, high-throughput SIP (HT-SIP) pipeline to support well-replicated, temporally resolved amplicon and metagenomics experiments. We applied this pipeline to a soil microhabitat with significant ecological importance-the hyphosphere zone surrounding arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) hyphae. AMF form symbiotic relationships with most plant species and play key roles in terrestrial nutrient and carbon cycling. RESULTS Our HT-SIP pipeline for fractionation, cleanup, and nucleic acid quantification of density gradients requires one-sixth of the hands-on labor compared to manual SIP and allows 16 samples to be processed simultaneously. Automated density fractionation increased the reproducibility of SIP gradients compared to manual fractionation, and we show adding a non-ionic detergent to the gradient buffer improved SIP DNA recovery. We applied HT-SIP to 13C-AMF hyphosphere DNA from a 13CO2 plant labeling study and created metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) using high-resolution SIP metagenomics (14 metagenomes per gradient). SIP confirmed the AMF Rhizophagus intraradices and associated MAGs were highly enriched (10-33 atom% 13C), even though the soils' overall enrichment was low (1.8 atom% 13C). We assembled 212 13C-hyphosphere MAGs; the hyphosphere taxa that assimilated the most AMF-derived 13C were from the phyla Myxococcota, Fibrobacterota, Verrucomicrobiota, and the ammonia-oxidizing archaeon genus Nitrososphaera. CONCLUSIONS Our semi-automated HT-SIP approach decreases operator time and improves reproducibility by targeting the most labor-intensive steps of SIP-fraction collection and cleanup. We illustrate this approach in a unique and understudied soil microhabitat-generating MAGs of actively growing microbes living in the AMF hyphosphere (without plant roots). The MAGs' phylogenetic composition and gene content suggest predation, decomposition, and ammonia oxidation may be key processes in hyphosphere nutrient cycling. Video Abstract.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin E. Nuccio
- Physical and Life Sciences Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA USA
| | - Steven J. Blazewicz
- Physical and Life Sciences Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA USA
| | - Marissa Lafler
- Physical and Life Sciences Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA USA
| | - Ashley N. Campbell
- Physical and Life Sciences Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA USA
| | - Anne Kakouridis
- Biosciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA USA
- Department of Environmental Science Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley, CA USA
| | - Jeffrey A. Kimbrel
- Physical and Life Sciences Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA USA
| | - Jessica Wollard
- Physical and Life Sciences Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA USA
| | | | | | | | - Rachel Hestrin
- Physical and Life Sciences Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA USA
- Stockbridge School of Agriculture, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA USA
| | | | - Mary Firestone
- Department of Environmental Science Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley, CA USA
| | - Jennifer Pett-Ridge
- Physical and Life Sciences Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA USA
- Life & Environmental Sciences Department, University of California Merced, Merced, CA USA
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24
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González-Castillo A, Carballo JL, Bautista-Guerrero E. Genomics, Phylogeny, and in Silico Phenotyping of Nitrosopumilus Genus. Curr Microbiol 2022; 80:3. [PMID: 36427110 DOI: 10.1007/s00284-022-03121-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2022] [Accepted: 11/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
The present study reports the first genome of Nitrosopumilus extracted from the marine sponge Thoosa mismalolli. The genomic study of Nitrosopumilus genus using seven genomes type strains (N. maritimus, N. piranensis, N. zosterae, N. ureiphilus, N. adriaticus, N. oxyclinae and N. cobalaminigenes), four genomes Candidatus species (Ca. N. koreensis, Ca. N. sp. AR2, Ca. N. salaria BD31, and SZUA-335), and six reference genomes (SI075, SI0036, SI0060, SI0034, SI0048, and bin36o) isolated from marine sponge, a tropical marine fish tank, dimly lit deep coastal waters, the lower euphotic zone of coastal waters, near-surface sediment, and MAG N. sp NMAG03 isolated from Thoosa mismalolli was performed. These genomes were characterized by means of a polyphasic approach comprising multilocus sequence analysis (MLSA) of 139 single-copy genes (SCG), core-pangenome, ANI, and in silico phenotypic characterization. We found that the genomes of the Nitrosopumilus genus formed three separate clusters (A, B, and C) based in 139 SCG sequence similarity. The genomes showed values between 75.2 and 99.5% for ANI, the core genome consisted of 168 gene families and the pangenome of 6,011 gene families. Based on the genomic analyses performed, the cluster A may contain a potential new species (NMAG03), and the cluster C could be represented by three new species of the genus. Finally, based on the results shown in this polyphasic approach, we support the use of the integrated approach for genomic analysis of poorly studied genera.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adrián González-Castillo
- Instituto de Ciencias del Mar Y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (Unidad Académica Mazatlán), 82000, Mazatlán, México.
| | - José Luis Carballo
- Instituto de Ciencias del Mar Y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (Unidad Académica Mazatlán), 82000, Mazatlán, México.,Departamento de Zoología, Laboratorio de Biología Marina, Universidad de Sevilla, Avda. Reina Mercedes 6, 41012, Seville, Spain
| | - Eric Bautista-Guerrero
- Laboratorio de Ecología Marina, Centro de Investigaciones Costeras, Centro Universitario de La Costa, Universidad de Guadalajara, Puerto Vallarta, México
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25
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Microbial Communities of Seawater and Coastal Soil of Russian Arctic Region and Their Potential for Bioremediation from Hydrocarbon Pollutants. Microorganisms 2022; 10:microorganisms10081490. [PMID: 35893548 PMCID: PMC9332119 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms10081490] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2022] [Revised: 07/20/2022] [Accepted: 07/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The development of Arctic regions leads to pollution of marine and coastal environments with oil and petroleum products. The purpose of this work was to determine the diversity of microbial communities in seawater, as well as in littoral and coastal soil, and the potential ability of their members to degrade hydrocarbons degradation and to isolate oil-degrading bacteria. Using high-throughput sequencing of the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene, the dominance of bacteria in polar communities was shown, the proportion of archaea did not exceed 2% (of the total number of sequences in the libraries). Archaea inhabiting the seawater belonged to the genera Nitrosopumilus and Nitrosoarchaeum and to the Nitrososphaeraceae family. In the polluted samples, members of the Gammaproteobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria, and Actinomycetes classes predominated; bacteria of the classes Bacteroidia, Clostridia, Acidimicrobiia, Planctomycetia, and Deltaproteobacteria were less represented. Using the iVikodak program and KEGG database, the potential functional characteristics of the studied prokaryotic communities were predicted. Bacteria were potentially involved in nitrogen and sulfur cycles, in degradation of benzoate, terephthalate, fatty acids, and alkanes. A total of 19 strains of bacteria of the genera Pseudomonas, Aeromonas, Oceanisphaera, Shewanella, Paeniglutamicibacter, and Rhodococcus were isolated from the studied samples. Among them were psychrotolerant and psychrophilic bacteria growing in seawater and utilizing crude oil, diesel fuel, and motor oils. The data obtained suggest that the studied microbial communities could participate in the removal of hydrocarbons from arctic seawater and coastal soils and suggested the possibility of the application of the isolates for the bioaugmentation of oil-contaminated polar environments.
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26
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Kelly MR, Whitworth P, Jamieson A, Burgess JG. Bacterial colonisation of plastic in the Rockall Trough, North-East Atlantic: An improved understanding of the deep-sea plastisphere. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2022; 305:119314. [PMID: 35447252 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2022.119314] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2021] [Revised: 04/12/2022] [Accepted: 04/13/2022] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
Plastic pollution has now been found within multiple ecosystems across the globe. Characterisation of microbial assemblages associated with marine plastic, or the so-called 'plastisphere', has focused predominantly on plastic in the epipelagic zone. Whether this community includes taxa that are consistently enriched on plastic compared to surrounding non plastic surfaces is unresolved, as are the ecological implications. The deep sea is likely a final sink for most of the plastic entering the ocean, yet there is limited information on microbial colonisation of plastic at depth. The aim of this study was to investigate deep-sea microbial communities associated with polystyrene (PS) and polyurethane (PU) with Bath stone used as a control. The substrates (n = 15) were deployed in the Rockall Trough (Atlantic), and recovered 420 days later from a depth of 1796 m. To characterise the bacterial communities, 16S rRNA genes were sequenced using the Illumina MiSeq platform. A dominant core microbiome (taxa shared across all substrates) comprised 8% of total ASVs (amplicon sequence variant) and accounted for 92% of the total community reads. This suggests that many commonly reported members of the plastisphere are simply opportunistic which freely colonise any hard surface. Transiently associated species consisted of approximately 7% of the total community. Thirty genera were enriched on plastic (P < 0.05), representing 1% of the total community. The discovery of novel deep-sea enriched taxa included Aurantivirga, Algivirga, IheB3-7, Spirosoma, HTCC5015, Ekhidna and Calorithrix on PS and Candidatus Obscuribacter, Haloferula, Marine Methylotrophic Group 3, Aliivibrio, Tibeticola and Dethiosulfatarculus on PU. This small fraction of the microbiome include taxa with unique metabolic abilities and show how bacterial communities can be shaped by plastic pollution at depth. This study outlines a novel approach in categorising the plastisphere to elucidate the ecological implications of enriched taxa that show an affinity for colonising plastic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Max R Kelly
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, United Kingdom.
| | - Paul Whitworth
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, United Kingdom.
| | - Alan Jamieson
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, United Kingdom; Minderoo-UWA Deep Sea Research Centre, University of Western Australia, Oceans Institute, IOMRC Building, 35 Stirling Highway, Perth, WA, 6009, Australia.
| | - J Grant Burgess
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, United Kingdom.
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27
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Ren M, Wang J. Phylogenetic divergence and adaptation of Nitrososphaeria across lake depths and freshwater ecosystems. THE ISME JOURNAL 2022; 16:1491-1501. [PMID: 35091647 PMCID: PMC9123079 DOI: 10.1038/s41396-022-01199-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2021] [Revised: 01/05/2022] [Accepted: 01/17/2022] [Indexed: 04/29/2023]
Abstract
Thaumarchaeota (now the class Nitrososphaeria in the phylum Thermoproteota in GTDB taxonomy) are abundant across marine and soil habitats; however, their genomic diversity and evolutionary history in freshwater environments remain elusive. Here, we reconstructed 17 high-quality metagenome-assembled genomes of Nitrososphaeria from a deep lake and two great rivers, and compared all available genomes between freshwater and marine habitats regarding their phylogenetic positions, relative abundance, and genomic content. We found that freshwater Nitrososphaeria were dominated by the family Nitrosopumilaceae and could be grouped into three distinct clades closely related to the genera Nitrosopumilus, Nitrosoarchaeum, and Nitrosotenuis. The Nitrosopumilus-like clade was exclusively from deep lakes, while the Nitrosoarchaeum-like clade was dominated by species from deep lakes and rivers, and the Nitrosotenuis-like clade was mainly from rivers, deep lakes, and estuaries. Interestingly, there was vertical niche separation between two clades in deep lakes, showing that the Nitrosopumilus-like species dominated shallow layers, whereas the relative abundance of the Nitrosoarchaeum-like clade increased toward deep waters. Phylogenetic clustering patterns in the Nitrosopumilaceae supported at least one freshwater-to-marine and two marine-to-freshwater transitions, the former of which refined the potential terrestrial-to-marine evolutionary path as previously proposed. The occurrence of the two marine-to-freshwater transitions were accompanied by horizontal transfer of the genes involved in nutrition regulation, osmoregulation, and cell motility during their colonization to freshwater habitats. Specifically, the Nitrosopumilus-like clade showed losses of genes encoding flagella assembly and ion transport, whereas the Nitrosoarchaeum-like clade had losses of intact genes involved in urea uptake and utilization and gains of genes encoding osmolarity-mediated mechanosensitive channels. Collectively, our results reveal for the first time the high genomic diversity of the class Nitrososphaeria across freshwater ecosystems and provide novel insights into their adaptive mechanisms and evolutionary histories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minglei Ren
- State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, China
| | - Jianjun Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, China.
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
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Dynamics of Planktonic Microbial Community Associated with Saccharina japonica Seedling. JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/jmse10060726] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/10/2022]
Abstract
Macroalgae interact with planktonic microbes in seawater. It remains unclear how planktonic microbes interact with the environment and each other during the cultivation processes of commercially important algal species. Such an interaction is important for developing environment-friendly mariculture methods. In this study, the dynamics of the planktonic microbial community associated with Saccharina japonica were profiled during the seedling production stage, with its environmental correlation and co-occurrence pattern determined simultaneously. Microbial richness increased and positively correlated with light intensity and contents of NO3− and PO43−. A clear temporal succession of the community was observed, which coincided with changes in light intensity, dissolved oxygen, pH, and NO3− content. α-Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, γ-Proteobacteria, and the genera prevalent in these taxa dominated the planktonic microbial community, and their relative abundance temporally changed. A profile of keystone taxa that is different from prevalent genera was identified based on betweenness centrality scores. A modularized co-occurrence pattern was determined, in addition to intensified species-to-species interactions at the core of the co-occurrence network. These findings expanded our cognization of the planktonic microbial community in response to S. japonica cultivation.
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Al-Ajeel S, Spasov E, Sauder LA, McKnight MM, Neufeld JD. Ammonia-oxidizing archaea and complete ammonia-oxidizing Nitrospira in water treatment systems. WATER RESEARCH X 2022; 15:100131. [PMID: 35402889 PMCID: PMC8990171 DOI: 10.1016/j.wroa.2022.100131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2021] [Revised: 03/07/2022] [Accepted: 03/11/2022] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Nitrification, the oxidation of ammonia to nitrate via nitrite, is important for many engineered water treatment systems. The sequential steps of this respiratory process are carried out by distinct microbial guilds, including ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and archaea (AOA), nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB), and newly discovered members of the genus Nitrospira that conduct complete ammonia oxidation (comammox). Even though all of these nitrifiers have been identified within water treatment systems, their relative contributions to nitrogen cycling are poorly understood. Although AOA contribute to nitrification in many wastewater treatment plants, they are generally outnumbered by AOB. In contrast, AOA and comammox Nitrospira typically dominate relatively low ammonia environments such as drinking water treatment, tertiary wastewater treatment systems, and aquaculture/aquarium filtration. Studies that focus on the abundance of ammonia oxidizers may misconstrue the actual role that distinct nitrifying guilds play in a system. Understanding which ammonia oxidizers are active is useful for further optimization of engineered systems that rely on nitrifiers for ammonia removal. This review highlights known distributions of AOA and comammox Nitrospira in engineered water treatment systems and suggests future research directions that will help assess their contributions to nitrification and identify factors that influence their distributions and activity.
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Ayiti OE, Babalola OO. Sustainable Intensification of Maize in the Industrial Revolution: Potential of Nitrifying Bacteria and Archaea. FRONTIERS IN SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fsufs.2022.827477] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Sustainable intensification is a means that proffer a solution to the increasing demand for food without degrading agricultural land. Maize is one of the most important crops in the industrial revolution era, there is a need for its sustainable intensification. This review discusses the role of maize in the industrial revolution, progress toward sustainable production, and the potential of nitrifying bacteria and archaea to achieve sustainable intensification. The era of the industrial revolution (IR) uses biotechnology which has proven to be the most environmentally friendly choice to improve crop yield and nutrients. Scientific research and the global economy have benefited from maize and maize products which are vast. Research on plant growth-promoting microorganisms is on the increase. One of the ways they carry out their function is by assisting in the cycling of geochemical, thus making nutrients available for plant growth. Nitrifying bacteria and archaea are the engineers of the nitrification process that produce nitrogen in forms accessible to plants. They have been identified in the rhizosphere of many crops, including maize, and have been used as biofertilizers. This study's findings could help in the development of microbial inoculum, which could be used to replace synthetic fertilizer and achieve sustainable intensification of maize production during the industrial revolution.
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Fernandes L, Jesus H, Almeida P, Sandrini J, Bianchini A, Santos H. The influence of the Doce River mouth on the microbiome of nearby coastal areas three years after the Fundão Dam failure, Brazil. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 807:151777. [PMID: 34808168 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.151777] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2021] [Revised: 10/14/2021] [Accepted: 11/14/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The failure of the Fundão Dam, considered the world's largest mining disaster, released more than 55 million m3 of ore tailings into the environment. The sediment plume formed by water and tailings spread along approximately 663 km of water bodies of the Doce River basin. It reached the Atlantic Ocean sixteen days after the dam failure. However, the effects of the dam failure in the marine coastal areas years after the disaster are still unknown. This study aims to evaluate water and sediment microbial communities of nearby coastal areas three years after the Fundão Dam failure, using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. A total of 441 samples from 25 locations were collected during two different seasons (dry and rainy). The results showed that the Doce River mouth seems to divide the microbial communities from the southern and northern stations into two groups. The plume of sediments from the Doce River seems to be impacting the marine microbiome even at the furthest sampling stations. Bacterial (Anaerolineaceae, Thermodesulfovibrionia and Rhodopirellula) and Archaeal (Bathyarchaeia and Woesearchaeia) taxa, found in high abundance in the sediment of the Doce River mouth, have been previously described in high abundance in heavy metal contaminated sediments, including the Doce River itself and in mine tailing sediments. Cyanobium, found in great abundance in the water samples from the Doce River mouth, was also reported as the most abundant in the water of the Doce River after the Fundão Dam failure. Overall, the farther from the Doce River mouth the sample was, the lower the relative abundances of these taxa were. These results provide strong evidence that the sediment plume released by the Fundão Dam failure is probably impacting the marine microbiome of nearby coastal areas, even three years after the dam failure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luanny Fernandes
- Department of Marine Biology, Fluminense Federal University - UFF, St. Professor Marcos Waldemar de Freitas Reis, Niterói, RJ 24210-201, Brazil
| | - Hugo Jesus
- Department of Marine Biology, Fluminense Federal University - UFF, St. Professor Marcos Waldemar de Freitas Reis, Niterói, RJ 24210-201, Brazil
| | - Pedro Almeida
- Department of Marine Biology, Fluminense Federal University - UFF, St. Professor Marcos Waldemar de Freitas Reis, Niterói, RJ 24210-201, Brazil
| | - Juliana Sandrini
- Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande - FURG, Av. Itália, s/n, Carreiros, Rio Grande, RS 96203-900, Brazil
| | - Adalto Bianchini
- Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande - FURG, Av. Itália, s/n, Carreiros, Rio Grande, RS 96203-900, Brazil; Coral Vivo Institute, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Henrique Santos
- Department of Marine Biology, Fluminense Federal University - UFF, St. Professor Marcos Waldemar de Freitas Reis, Niterói, RJ 24210-201, Brazil; Coral Vivo Institute, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
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Assessment of Hydrocarbon Degradation Potential in Microbial Communities in Arctic Sea Ice. Microorganisms 2022; 10:microorganisms10020328. [PMID: 35208784 PMCID: PMC8879337 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms10020328] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2021] [Revised: 01/27/2022] [Accepted: 01/28/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The anthropogenic release of oil hydrocarbons into the cold marine environment is an increasing concern due to the elevated usage of sea routes and the exploration of new oil drilling sites in Arctic areas. The aim of this study was to evaluate prokaryotic community structures and the genetic potential of hydrocarbon degradation in the metagenomes of seawater, sea ice, and crude oil encapsulating the sea ice of the Norwegian fjord, Ofotfjorden. Although the results indicated substantial differences between the structure of prokaryotic communities in seawater and sea ice, the crude oil encapsulating sea ice (SIO) showed increased abundances of many genera-containing hydrocarbon-degrading organisms, including Bermanella, Colwellia, and Glaciecola. Although the metagenome of seawater was rich in a variety of hydrocarbon degradation-related functional genes (HDGs) associated with the metabolism of n-alkanes, and mono- and polyaromatic hydrocarbons, most of the normalized gene counts were highest in the clean sea ice metagenome, whereas in SIO, these counts were the lowest. The long-chain alkane degradation gene almA was detected from all the studied metagenomes and its counts exceeded ladA and alkB counts in both sea ice metagenomes. In addition, almA was related to the most diverse group of prokaryotic genera. Almost all 18 good- and high-quality metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) had diverse HDGs profiles. The MAGs recovered from the SIO metagenome belonged to the abundant taxa, such as Glaciecola, Bermanella, and Rhodobacteracea, in this environment. The genera associated with HDGs were often previously known as hydrocarbon-degrading genera. However, a substantial number of new associations, either between already known hydrocarbon-degrading genera and new HDGs or between genera not known to contain hydrocarbon degraders and multiple HDGs, were found. The superimposition of the results of comparing HDG associations with taxonomy, the HDG profiles of MAGs, and the full genomes of organisms in the KEGG database suggest that the found relationships need further investigation and verification.
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Han Y, Zhang M, Chen X, Zhai W, Tan E, Tang K. Transcriptomic evidences for microbial carbon and nitrogen cycles in the deoxygenated seawaters of Bohai Sea. ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL 2022; 158:106889. [PMID: 34619534 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2021.106889] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2020] [Revised: 09/19/2021] [Accepted: 09/20/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Eutrophication-induced water deoxygenation occurs continually in coastal oceans, and alters community structure, metabolic processes, and the energy shunt, resulting in a major threat to the ecological environment. Seasonal deoxygenation events have occurred in the Bohai Sea (China), however, how these affect the functional activity of microorganisms remains unclear. Here, through the use of absolute quantification of 16S rRNA genes amplicon sequencing and metatranscriptomics approaches, we investigated the structure of the microbial community and the patterns of transcriptional activity in deoxygenated seawaters. The dominant phyla were Proteobacteria (average value, 1.4 × 106 copies ml-1), Cyanobacteria (3.7 × 105 copies ml-1), Bacteroidetes (2.7 × 105 copies ml-1), and the ammonia-oxidizing archaea Thaumarchaeota (1.9 × 105 copies ml-1). Among the various environmental factors, dissolved oxygen, pH and temperature displayed the most significant correlation with microbial community composition and functional activity. Metatranscriptomic data showed high transcriptional activity of Thaumarchaeota in the deoxygenated waters, with a significant increase in the expression of core genes representing ammonia oxidation, ammonia transport, and carbon fixation (3-hydroxypropionic acid/4-hydroxybutyric acid cycle) pathways. The transcripts of Cyanobacteria involved in photosynthesis and carbon fixation (Calvin-Benson-Bassham cycle) significantly decreased in low oxygen waters. Meanwhile, the transcripts for the ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase-encoding gene shifted from being assigned to photoautotrophic to chemoautotrophic organisms in surface and bottom waters, respectively. Moreover, the transcription profile indicated that heterotrophs play a critical role in transforming low-molecular-weight dissolved organic nitrogen. Elevated abundances of transcripts related to microbial antioxidant activity corresponded to an enhanced aerobic metabolism of Thaumarchaeota in the low oxygen seawater. In general, our transcriptional evidences showed a population increase of Thaumarchaeota, especially the coastal ecotype of ammonia oxidizers, in low oxygen aquatic environments, and indicated an enhanced contribution of chemolithoautotrophic carbon fixation to carbon flow.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Han
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, Fujian Key Laboratory of Marine Carbon Sequestration, College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, Fujian, PR China
| | - Mu Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, Fujian Key Laboratory of Marine Carbon Sequestration, College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, Fujian, PR China
| | - Xiaofeng Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, Fujian Key Laboratory of Marine Carbon Sequestration, College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, Fujian, PR China
| | - Weidong Zhai
- Institute of Marine Science and Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao 266000, Shandong, PR China
| | - Ehui Tan
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, Hainan, PR China
| | - Kai Tang
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, Fujian Key Laboratory of Marine Carbon Sequestration, College of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, Fujian, PR China.
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Ban Q, Zhang L, Li J. Correlating bacterial and archaeal community with efficiency of a coking wastewater treatment plant employing anaerobic-anoxic-oxic process in coal industry. CHEMOSPHERE 2022; 286:131724. [PMID: 34388873 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.131724] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2020] [Revised: 07/24/2021] [Accepted: 07/28/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Coking wastewater (CWW) contains various complex pollutants, and biological treatment processes are frequently applied in the coking wastewater treatment plants (CWWTPs). The present work is to evaluate the contaminants removal of a full-scale CWWTP with an anaerobic-anoxic-oxic process (A/A/O), to reveal function of bacterial and archaeal community involved in different bioreactors, and to clarify the relationship between the performance and microbial community. Illumina Miseq sequencing of bacteria showed that β-proteobacteria dominated in three bioreactors with relative abundance of 60.2%~81.7%. 75.2% of sequences were assigned to Petrobacter in the bioreactor A1, while Thiobacillus dominated in A2 and O with relative abundance of 31.8% and 38.7%, respectively. Illumina Miseq sequencing of archaea revealed a high diversity of methanogens existed in A1 and A2 activated sludge. Moreover, Halostagnicola was the dominant archaea in A1 and A2 activated sludge with relative abundance of 41.8% and 66.5%, respectively. Function predicted analysis explored that function of bacteria was similar to that of archaea but the relative abundance differed from each other. A putative biodegradation model of CWW treatment in A/A/O process indicated that A1 and A2 activated sludge mainly reduced carbohydrate, protein, TN, phenol and cyanide, as well as methane production. Bacteria in the bioreactor O were responsible for aerobic biotransformation of residual carbohydrates, refractory organics and nitrification. The redundancy analysis (RDA) further revealed that removal of COD, TN, and NO3--N, phenol and cyanides were highly correlated with some anaerobic bacteria and archaea, whereas the transformation of NH4+-N was positively correlated with some aerobic bacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiaoying Ban
- College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, 030006, PR China; Shanxi Laboratory for Yellow River, Taiyuan, 030006, China
| | - Liguo Zhang
- College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, 030006, PR China; Shanxi Laboratory for Yellow River, Taiyuan, 030006, China
| | - Jianzheng Li
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150090, PR China.
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Microbial Abundance and Diversity in Subsurface Lower Oceanic Crust at Atlantis Bank, Southwest Indian Ridge. Appl Environ Microbiol 2021; 87:e0151921. [PMID: 34469194 DOI: 10.1128/aem.01519-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 360 drilled Hole U1473A at Atlantis Bank, an oceanic core complex on the Southwest Indian Ridge, with the aim of recovering representative samples of the lower oceanic crust. Recovered cores were primarily gabbro and olivine gabbro. These mineralogies may host serpentinization reactions that have the potential to support microbial life within the recovered rocks or at greater depths beneath Atlantis Bank. We quantified prokaryotic cells and analyzed microbial community composition for rock samples obtained from Hole U1473A and conducted nutrient addition experiments to assess if nutrient supply influences the composition of microbial communities. Microbial abundance was low (≤104 cells cm-3) but positively correlated with the presence of veins in rocks within some depth ranges. Due to the heterogeneous nature of the rocks downhole (alternating stretches of relatively unaltered gabbros and more significantly altered and fractured rocks), the strength of the positive correlations between rock characteristics and microbial abundances was weaker when all depths were considered. Microbial community diversity varied at each depth analyzed. Surprisingly, addition of simple organic acids, ammonium, phosphate, or ammonium plus phosphate in nutrient addition experiments did not affect microbial diversity or methane production in nutrient addition incubation cultures over 60 weeks. The work presented here from Site U1473A, which is representative of basement rock samples at ultraslow spreading ridges and the usually inaccessible lower oceanic crust, increases our understanding of microbial life present in this rarely studied environment and provides an analog for basement below ocean world systems such as Enceladus. IMPORTANCE The lower oceanic crust below the seafloor is one of the most poorly explored habitats on Earth. The rocks from the Southwest Indian Ridge (SWIR) are similar to rock environments on other ocean-bearing planets and moons. Studying this environment helps us increase our understanding of life in other subsurface rocky environments in our solar system that we do not yet have the capability to access. During an expedition to the SWIR, we drilled 780 m into lower oceanic crust and collected over 50 rock samples to count the number of resident microbes and determine who they are. We also selected some of these rocks for an experiment where we provided them with different nutrients to explore energy and carbon sources preferred for growth. We found that the number of resident microbes and community structure varied with depth. Additionally, added nutrients did not shape the microbial diversity in a predictable manner.
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Mika K, Okamoto AS, Shubin NH, Mark Welch DB. Bacterial community dynamics during embryonic development of the little skate (Leucoraja erinacea). Anim Microbiome 2021; 3:72. [PMID: 34645528 PMCID: PMC8513177 DOI: 10.1186/s42523-021-00136-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2021] [Accepted: 09/26/2021] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Microbial transmission from parent to offspring is hypothesized to be widespread in vertebrates. However, evidence for this is limited as many evolutionarily important clades remain unexamined. There is currently no data on the microbiota associated with any Chondrichthyan species during embryonic development, despite the global distribution, ecological importance, and phylogenetic position of this clade. In this study, we take the first steps towards filling this gap by investigating the microbiota associated with embryonic development in the little skate, Leucoraja erinacea, a common North Atlantic species and popular system for chondrichthyan biology. Methods To assess the potential for bacterial transmission in an oviparous chondrichthyan, we used 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing to characterize the microbial communities associated with the skin, gill, and egg capsule of the little skate, at six points during ontogeny. Community composition was analyzed using the QIIME2 pipeline and microbial continuity between stages was tracked using FEAST. Results We identify site-specific and stage-specific microbiota dominated by the bacterial phyla Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes. This composition is similar to, but distinct from, that of previously published data on the adult microbiota of other chondrichthyan species. Our data reveal that the skate egg capsule harbors a highly diverse bacterial community–particularly on the internal surface of the capsule–and facilitates intergenerational microbial transfer to the offspring. Embryonic skin and external gill tissues host similar bacterial communities; the skin and gill communities later diverge as the internal gills and skin denticles develop. Conclusions Our study is the first exploration of the chondrichthyan microbiota throughout ontogeny and provides the first evidence of vertical transmission in this group. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s42523-021-00136-x.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katelyn Mika
- Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, 900 E 57th St, Culver Hall 108 OBA, Chicago, IL, 60637-1428, USA. .,Genetic Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, USA.
| | | | - Neil H Shubin
- Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, 900 E 57th St, Culver Hall 108 OBA, Chicago, IL, 60637-1428, USA
| | - David B Mark Welch
- Josephine Bay Paul Center for Comparative Molecular Biology and Evolution, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA, USA
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Zhang R, Liu WC, Liu Y, Zhang HL, Zhao ZH, Zou LY, Shen YC, Lan WS. Impacts of anthropogenic disturbances on microbial community of coastal waters in Shenzhen, South China. ECOTOXICOLOGY (LONDON, ENGLAND) 2021; 30:1652-1661. [PMID: 33161467 DOI: 10.1007/s10646-020-02297-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/20/2020] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
During the urbanization, human activities have brought great changes to marine biodiversity and microbial communities of coastal water. Shenzhen is a coastal city that has developed rapidly over the past four decades, but the microbial communities and metabolic potential in offshore water are still not well characterized. Here, 16S rRNA gene V4-V5 sequencing was conducted to determine the microbial components from coastal waters in twenty selected areas of Shenzhen. The results showed a significant difference on the microbial composition between the western and eastern waters. Samples from western coast had more abundant Burkholderiaceae, Sporichthyaceae, Aeromonadaceae, and Methylophilaceae compared to eastern coast, and at the genus level, Candidatus Aquiluna, Aeromonas, Arcobacter, Ottowia and Acidibacter were significantly higher in western waters. There was also a notable difference within the western sample group, suggesting the taxa-compositional heterogeneity. Moreover, analysis of environmental factors and water quality revealed that salinity, pH and dissolved oxygen were relatively decreased in western samples, while total nitrogen, total phosphorus, chemical oxygen demand, and harmful marine vibrio were significantly increased compared to eastern waters. The results suggest the coastal waters pollution is more serious in western Shenzhen than eastern Shenzhen and the microbial communities are altered, which can be associated with anthropogenic disturbances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rui Zhang
- Shenzhen Institute of Guangdong Ocean University, Shenzhen, 518108, PR China.
- College of Food Science and Technology, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, Guangdong, 524088, PR China.
| | - Wen-Chao Liu
- Shenzhen Institute of Guangdong Ocean University, Shenzhen, 518108, PR China
- College of Agriculture, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, Guangdong, 524088, PR China
| | - Yu Liu
- Shenzhen Institute of Guangdong Ocean University, Shenzhen, 518108, PR China
- College of Agriculture, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, Guangdong, 524088, PR China
| | - Hong-Lian Zhang
- Shenzhen Institute of Guangdong Ocean University, Shenzhen, 518108, PR China
- College of Food Science and Technology, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, Guangdong, 524088, PR China
| | - Zhi-Hui Zhao
- Shenzhen Institute of Guangdong Ocean University, Shenzhen, 518108, PR China
- College of Agriculture, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, Guangdong, 524088, PR China
| | - Ling-Yun Zou
- Baoan Women's and Children's Hospital, Jinan University, Shenzhen, 518102, PR China
| | - Yu-Chun Shen
- College of Fisheries, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, Guangdong, 524088, PR China
| | - Wen-Sheng Lan
- Shenzhen R&D Key Laboratory of Alien Pest Detection Technology, The Shenzhen Academy of Science and Technology for Inspection and Quarantine, Technology Center for Animal and Plant Inspection and Quarantine, Shenzhen Customs, Shenzhen, 518010, PR China.
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Nakagawa T, Koji M, Hosoyama A, Yamazoe A, Tsuchiya Y, Ueda S, Takahashi R, Stahl DA. Nitrosopumilus zosterae sp. nov., an autotrophic ammonia-oxidizing archaeon of phylum Thaumarchaeota isolated from coastal eelgrass sediments of Japan. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2021; 71. [PMID: 34406920 DOI: 10.1099/ijsem.0.004961] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
A novel mesophilic and aerobic ammonia-oxidizing archaeon of the phylum Thaumarchaeota, strain NM25T, was isolated from coastal eelgrass zone sediment sampled in Shimoda (Japan). The cells were rod-shaped with an S-layer cell wall. The temperature range for growth was 20-37 °C, with an optimum at 30 °C. The pH range for growth was pH 6.1-7.7, with an optimum at pH 7.1. The salinity range for growth was 5-40 %, with an optimum range of 15-32 %. Cells obtained energy from ammonia oxidation and used bicarbonate as a carbon source. Utilization of urea was not observed for energy generation and growth. Strain NM25T required a hydrogen peroxide scavenger, such as α-ketoglutarate, pyruvate or catalase, for sustained growth on ammonia. Growth of strain NM25T was inhibited by addition of low concentrations of some organic compounds and organic mixtures, including complete inhibition by glycerol, peptone and yeast extract. Phylogenetic analysis of four concatenated housekeeping genes (16S rRNA, rpoB, rpsI and atpD) and concatenated AmoA, AmoB, AmoC amino acid sequences indicated that the isolate is similar to members of the genus Nitrosopumilus. The closest relative is Nitrosopumilus ureiphilus PS0T with sequence similarities of 99.5 % for the 16S rRNA gene and 97.2 % for the amoA gene. Genome relatedness between strain NM25T and N. ureiphilus PS0T was assessed by average nucleotide identity and digital DNA-DNA hybridization, giving results of 85.4 and 40.2 %, respectively. On the basis of phenotypic, genotypic and phylogenetic data, strain NM25T represents a novel species of the genus Nitrosopumilus, for which the name sp. nov, is proposed. The type strain is NM25T (=NBRC 111181T=ATCC TSD-147T).
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Affiliation(s)
- Tatsunori Nakagawa
- College of Bioresource Sciences, Nihon University, 1866 Kameino, Fujisawa 252-0880, Japan.,Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Washington, WA 98195, USA
| | - Mori Koji
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Washington, WA 98195, USA
| | - Akira Hosoyama
- NITE Biological Resource Center (NBRC), National Institute of Technology and Evaluation (NITE), 2-5-8 Kazusakamatari, Kisarazu 292-0818, Japan
| | - Atsushi Yamazoe
- NITE Biological Resource Center (NBRC), National Institute of Technology and Evaluation (NITE), 2-5-8 Kazusakamatari, Kisarazu 292-0818, Japan
| | - Yuki Tsuchiya
- NITE Biological Resource Center (NBRC), National Institute of Technology and Evaluation (NITE), 2-5-8 Kazusakamatari, Kisarazu 292-0818, Japan
| | - Shingo Ueda
- College of Bioresource Sciences, Nihon University, 1866 Kameino, Fujisawa 252-0880, Japan
| | - Reiji Takahashi
- College of Bioresource Sciences, Nihon University, 1866 Kameino, Fujisawa 252-0880, Japan
| | - David A Stahl
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Washington, WA 98195, USA
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Engelen B, Nguyen T, Heyerhoff B, Kalenborn S, Sydow K, Tabai H, Peterson RN, Wegener G, Teske A. Microbial Communities of Hydrothermal Guaymas Basin Surficial Sediment Profiled at 2 Millimeter-Scale Resolution. Front Microbiol 2021; 12:710881. [PMID: 34335545 PMCID: PMC8322767 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.710881] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2021] [Accepted: 06/22/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
The surficial hydrothermal sediments of Guaymas Basin harbor complex microbial communities where oxidative and reductive nitrogen, sulfur, and carbon-cycling populations and processes overlap and coexist. Here, we resolve microbial community profiles in hydrothermal sediment cores of Guaymas Basin on a scale of 2 millimeters, using Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (DGGE) to visualize the rapid downcore changes among dominant bacteria and archaea. DGGE analysis of bacterial 16S rRNA gene amplicons identified free-living and syntrophic deltaproteobacterial sulfate-reducing bacteria, fermentative Cytophagales, members of the Chloroflexi (Thermoflexia), Aminicenantes, and uncultured sediment clades. The DGGE pattern indicates a gradually changing downcore community structure where small changes on a 2-millimeter scale accumulate to significantly changing populations within the top 4 cm sediment layer. Functional gene DGGE analyses identified anaerobic methane-oxidizing archaea (ANME) based on methyl-coenzyme M reductase genes, and members of the Betaproteobacteria and Thaumarchaeota based on bacterial and archaeal ammonia monooxygenase genes, respectively. The co-existence and overlapping habitat range of aerobic, nitrifying, sulfate-reducing and fermentative bacteria and archaea, including thermophiles, in the surficial sediments is consistent with dynamic redox and thermal gradients that sustain highly complex microbial communities in the hydrothermal sediments of Guaymas Basin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bert Engelen
- Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Tien Nguyen
- Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Benedikt Heyerhoff
- Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Saskia Kalenborn
- Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Katharina Sydow
- Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Houssem Tabai
- Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Richard N Peterson
- Department of Coastal and Marine Systems Science, Coastal Carolina University, Conway, SC, United States
| | - Gunter Wegener
- MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany.,Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, Bremen, Germany
| | - Andreas Teske
- Department of Marine Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
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40
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Ammonia-oxidizing archaea have similar power requirements in diverse marine oxic sediments. ISME JOURNAL 2021; 15:3657-3667. [PMID: 34158628 PMCID: PMC8630020 DOI: 10.1038/s41396-021-01041-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2020] [Revised: 06/09/2021] [Accepted: 06/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Energy/power availability is regarded as one of the ultimate controlling factors of microbial abundance in the deep biosphere, where fewer cells are found in habitats of lower energy availability. A critical assumption driving the proportional relationship between total cell abundance and power availability is that the cell-specific power requirement keeps constant or varies over smaller ranges than other variables, which has yet to be validated. Here we present a quantitative framework to determine the cell-specific power requirement of the omnipresent ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) in eight sediment cores with 3-4 orders of magnitude variations of organic matter flux and oxygen penetration depth. Our results show that despite the six orders of magnitude variations in the rates and power supply of nitrification and AOA abundances across these eight cores, the cell-specific power requirement of AOA from different cores and depths overlaps within the narrow range of 10-19-10-17 W cell-1, where the lower end may represent the basal power requirement of microorganisms persisting in subseafloor sediments. In individual cores, AOA also exhibit similar cell-specific power requirements, regardless of the AOA population size or sediment depth/age. Such quantitative insights establish a relationship between the power supply and the total abundance of AOA, and therefore lay a foundation for a first-order estimate of the standing stock of AOA in global marine oxic sediments.
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41
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Vaksmaa A, Knittel K, Abdala Asbun A, Goudriaan M, Ellrott A, Witte HJ, Vollmer I, Meirer F, Lott C, Weber M, Engelmann JC, Niemann H. Microbial Communities on Plastic Polymers in the Mediterranean Sea. Front Microbiol 2021; 12:673553. [PMID: 34220756 PMCID: PMC8243005 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.673553] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2021] [Accepted: 04/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Plastic particles in the ocean are typically covered with microbial biofilms, but it remains unclear whether distinct microbial communities colonize different polymer types. In this study, we analyzed microbial communities forming biofilms on floating microplastics in a bay of the island of Elba in the Mediterranean Sea. Raman spectroscopy revealed that the plastic particles mainly comprised polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and polystyrene (PS) of which polyethylene and polypropylene particles were typically brittle and featured cracks. Fluorescence in situ hybridization and imaging by high-resolution microscopy revealed dense microbial biofilms on the polymer surfaces. Amplicon sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene showed that the bacterial communities on all plastic types consisted mainly of the orders Flavobacteriales, Rhodobacterales, Cytophagales, Rickettsiales, Alteromonadales, Chitinophagales, and Oceanospirillales. We found significant differences in the biofilm community composition on PE compared with PP and PS (on OTU and order level), which shows that different microbial communities colonize specific polymer types. Furthermore, the sequencing data also revealed a higher relative abundance of archaeal sequences on PS in comparison with PE or PP. We furthermore found a high occurrence, up to 17% of all sequences, of different hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria on all investigated plastic types. However, their functioning in the plastic-associated biofilm and potential role in plastic degradation needs further assessment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annika Vaksmaa
- Department of Marine Microbiology and Biogeochemistry, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Texel, Netherlands
| | - Katrin Knittel
- Department of Molecular Ecology, Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, Bremen, Germany
| | - Alejandro Abdala Asbun
- Department of Marine Microbiology and Biogeochemistry, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Texel, Netherlands
| | - Maaike Goudriaan
- Department of Marine Microbiology and Biogeochemistry, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Texel, Netherlands
| | - Andreas Ellrott
- Department of Molecular Ecology, Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, Bremen, Germany
| | - Harry J Witte
- Department of Marine Microbiology and Biogeochemistry, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Texel, Netherlands
| | - Ina Vollmer
- Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis, Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
| | - Florian Meirer
- Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis, Debye Institute for Nanomaterials Science, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
| | | | | | - Julia C Engelmann
- Department of Marine Microbiology and Biogeochemistry, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Texel, Netherlands
| | - Helge Niemann
- Department of Marine Microbiology and Biogeochemistry, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Texel, Netherlands.,Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
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Proposal of Carbonactinosporaceae fam. nov. within the class Actinomycetia. Reclassification of Streptomyces thermoautotrophicus as Carbonactinospora thermoautotrophica gen. nov., comb. nov. Syst Appl Microbiol 2021; 44:126223. [PMID: 34157595 DOI: 10.1016/j.syapm.2021.126223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2021] [Revised: 05/27/2021] [Accepted: 06/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Streptomyces thermoautotrophicus UBT1T has been suggested to merit generic status due to its phylogenetic placement and distinctive phenotypes among Actinomycetia. To evaluate whether 'S. thermoautotrophicus' represents a higher taxonomic rank, 'S. thermoautotrophicus' strains UBT1T and H1 were compared to Actinomycetia using 16S rRNA gene sequences and comparative genome analyses. The UBT1T and H1 genomes each contain at least two different 16S rRNA sequences, which are closely related to those of Acidothermus cellulolyticus (order Acidothermales). In multigene-based phylogenomic trees, UBT1T and H1 typically formed a sister group to the Streptosporangiales-Acidothermales clade. The Average Amino Acid Identity, Percentage of Conserved Proteins, and whole-genome Average Nucleotide Identity (Alignment Fraction) values were ≤58.5%, ≤48%, ≤75.5% (0.3) between 'S. thermoautotrophicus' and Streptosporangiales members, all below the respective thresholds for delineating genera. The values for genomics comparisons between strains UBT1T and H1 with Acidothermales, as well as members of the genus Streptomyces, were even lower. A review of the 'S. thermoautotrophicus' proteomic profiles and KEGG orthology demonstrated that UBT1T and H1 present pronounced differences, both tested and predicted, in phenotypic and chemotaxonomic characteristics compared to its sister clades and Streptomyces. The distinct phylogenetic position and the combination of genotypic and phenotypic characteristics justify the proposal of Carbonactinospora gen. nov., with the type species Carbonactinospora thermoautotrophica comb. nov. (type strain UBT1T, = DSM 100163T = KCTC 49540T) belonging to Carbonactinosporaceae fam. nov. within Actinomycetia.
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Abstract
Phytoplankton transform inorganic carbon into thousands of biomolecules that represent an important pool of fixed carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur in the surface ocean. Metabolite production differs between phytoplankton, and the flux of these molecules through the microbial food web depends on compound-specific bioavailability to members of a wider microbial community. Yet relatively little is known about the diversity or concentration of metabolites within marine plankton. Here, we compare 313 polar metabolites in 21 cultured phytoplankton species and in natural planktonic communities across environmental gradients to show that bulk community metabolomes reflect the chemical composition of the phytoplankton community. We also show that groups of compounds have similar patterns across space and taxonomy, suggesting that the concentrations of these compounds in the environment are controlled by similar sources and sinks. We quantify several compounds in the surface ocean that represent substantial understudied pools of labile carbon. For example, the N-containing metabolite homarine was up to 3% of particulate carbon and is produced in high concentrations by cultured Synechococcus, and S-containing gonyol accumulated up to 2.5 nM in surface particles and likely originates from dinoflagellates or haptophytes. Our results show that phytoplankton composition directly shapes the carbon composition of the surface ocean. Our findings suggest that in order to access these pools of bioavailable carbon, the wider microbial community must be adapted to phytoplankton community composition. IMPORTANCE Microscopic phytoplankton transform 100 million tons of inorganic carbon into thousands of different organic compounds each day. The structure of each chemical is critical to its biological and ecosystem function, yet the diversity of biomolecules produced by marine microbial communities remained mainly unexplored, especially small polar molecules which are often considered the currency of the microbial loop. Here, we explore the abundance and diversity of small biomolecules in planktonic communities across ecological gradients in the North Pacific and within 21 cultured phytoplankton species. Our work demonstrates that phytoplankton diversity is an important determinant of the chemical composition of the highly bioavailable pool of organic carbon in the ocean, and we highlight understudied yet abundant compounds in both the environment and cultured organisms. These findings add to understanding of how the chemical makeup of phytoplankton shapes marine microbial communities where the ability to sense and use biomolecules depends on the chemical structure.
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44
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Jarrell KF, Albers SV, Machado JNDS. A comprehensive history of motility and Archaellation in Archaea. FEMS MICROBES 2021; 2:xtab002. [PMID: 37334237 PMCID: PMC10117864 DOI: 10.1093/femsmc/xtab002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2021] [Accepted: 03/18/2021] [Indexed: 08/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Each of the three Domains of life, Eukarya, Bacteria and Archaea, have swimming structures that were all originally called flagella, despite the fact that none were evolutionarily related to either of the other two. Surprisingly, this was true even in the two prokaryotic Domains of Bacteria and Archaea. Beginning in the 1980s, evidence gradually accumulated that convincingly demonstrated that the motility organelle in Archaea was unrelated to that found in Bacteria, but surprisingly shared significant similarities to type IV pili. This information culminated in the proposal, in 2012, that the 'archaeal flagellum' be assigned a new name, the archaellum. In this review, we provide a historical overview on archaella and motility research in Archaea, beginning with the first simple observations of motile extreme halophilic archaea a century ago up to state-of-the-art cryo-tomography of the archaellum motor complex and filament observed today. In addition to structural and biochemical data which revealed the archaellum to be a type IV pilus-like structure repurposed as a rotating nanomachine (Beeby et al. 2020), we also review the initial discoveries and subsequent advances using a wide variety of approaches to reveal: complex regulatory events that lead to the assembly of the archaellum filaments (archaellation); the roles of the various archaellum proteins; key post-translational modifications of the archaellum structural subunits; evolutionary relationships; functions of archaella other than motility and the biotechnological potential of this fascinating structure. The progress made in understanding the structure and assembly of the archaellum is highlighted by comparing early models to what is known today.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ken F Jarrell
- Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, Queen's University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada
| | - Sonja-Verena Albers
- Institute for Biology II- Microbiology, Molecular Biology of Archaea, University of Freiburg, Schänzlestraße 1, Freiburg 79104, Germany
| | - J Nuno de Sousa Machado
- Institute for Biology II- Microbiology, Molecular Biology of Archaea, University of Freiburg, Schänzlestraße 1, Freiburg 79104, Germany
- Spemann Graduate School of Biology and Medicine, University of Freiburg, Albertstraße 19A, 79104, Freiburg, Germany
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45
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Ammonia-oxidizing archaea in biological interactions. J Microbiol 2021; 59:298-310. [DOI: 10.1007/s12275-021-1005-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2021] [Revised: 01/28/2021] [Accepted: 01/29/2021] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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46
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Production and Excretion of Polyamines To Tolerate High Ammonia, a Case Study on Soil Ammonia-Oxidizing Archaeon " Candidatus Nitrosocosmicus agrestis". mSystems 2021; 6:6/1/e01003-20. [PMID: 33594004 PMCID: PMC8573960 DOI: 10.1128/msystems.01003-20] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Ammonia tolerance is a universal characteristic among the ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB); in contrast, the known species of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) have been regarded as ammonia sensitive, until the identification of the genus “Candidatus Nitrosocosmicus.” However, the mechanism of its ammonia tolerance has not been reported. In this study, the AOA species “Candidatus Nitrosocosmicus agrestis,” obtained from agricultural soil, was determined to be able to tolerate high concentrations of NH3 (>1,500 μM). In the genome of this strain, which was recovered from metagenomic data, a full set of genes for the pathways of polysaccharide metabolism, urea hydrolysis, arginine synthesis, and polyamine synthesis was identified. Among them, the genes encoding cytoplasmic carbonic anhydrase (CA) and a potential polyamine transporter (drug/metabolite exporter [DME]) were found to be unique to the genus “Ca. Nitrosocosmicus.” When “Ca. Nitrosocosmicus agrestis” was grown with high levels of ammonia, the genes that participate in CO2/HCO3− conversion, glutamate/glutamine syntheses, arginine synthesis, polyamine synthesis, and polyamine excretion were significantly upregulated, and the polyamines, including putrescine and spermidine, had significant levels of production. Based on genome analysis, gene expression quantification, and polyamine determination, we propose that the production and excretion of polyamines is probably one of the reasons for the ammonia tolerance of “Ca. Nitrosocosmicus agrestis,” and even of the genus “Ca. Nitrosocosmicus.” IMPORTANCE Ammonia tolerance of AOA is usually much lower than that of the AOB, which makes the AOB rather than AOA a predominant ammonia oxidizer in agricultural soils, contributing to global N2O emission. Recently, some AOA species from the genus “Ca. Nitrosocosmicus” were also found to have high ammonia tolerance. However, the reported mechanism for the ammonia tolerance is very rare and indeterminate for AOB and for AOA species. In this study, an ammonia-tolerant AOA strain of the species “Ca. Nitrosocosmicus agrestis” was identified and its potential mechanisms for ammonia tolerance were explored. This study will be of benefit for determining more of the ecological role of AOA in agricultural soils or other environments.
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47
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Wang Y, Qin W, Jiang X, Ju F, Mao Y, Zhang A, Stahl DA, Zhang T. Seasonal Prevalence of Ammonia-Oxidizing Archaea in a Full-Scale Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant Treating Saline Wastewater Revealed by a 6-Year Time-Series Analysis. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2021; 55:2662-2673. [PMID: 33539079 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.0c07703] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Although several molecular-based studies have demonstrated the involvement of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) in ammonia oxidation in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), factors affecting the persistence and growth of AOA in these engineered systems have not been resolved. Here, we show a seasonal prevalence of AOA in a full-scale WWTP (Shatin, Hong Kong SAR) over a 6-year period of observation, even outnumbering ammonia-oxidizing bacteria in the seasonal peaks in 3 years, which may be due to the high bioavailable copper concentrations. Comparative analysis of three metagenome-assembled genomes of group I.1a AOA obtained from the activated sludge and 16S rRNA gene sequences recovered from marine sediments suggested that the seawater used for toilet flushing was the primary source of the WWTP AOA. A rare AOA population in the estuarine source water became transiently abundant in the WWTP with a metagenome-based relative abundance of up to 1.3% over three seasons of observation. Correlation-based network analysis revealed a robust co-occurrence relationship between these AOA and organisms potentially active in nitrite oxidation. Moreover, a strong correlation between the dominant AOA and an abundant proteobacterial organism suggested that capacity for extracellular polymeric substance production by the proteobacterium could provide a niche for AOA within bioaggregates. Together, the study highlights the importance of long-term observation in identifying biotic and abiotic factors governing population dynamics in open systems such as full-scale WWTPs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yulin Wang
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Wei Qin
- School of Oceanography, University of Washington, Seattle 98195, Washington, United States
- Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman 73019, Oklahoma, United States
| | - Xiaotao Jiang
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Feng Ju
- School of Engineering, Westlake University, 18 Shilongshan Road, Hangzhou 310024, China
| | - Yanping Mao
- College of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, Guangdong, China
| | - Anni Zhang
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - David A Stahl
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle 98195, Washington, United States
| | - Tong Zhang
- Environmental Microbiome Engineering and Biotechnology Laboratory, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
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Teske A, Wegener G, Chanton JP, White D, MacGregor B, Hoer D, de Beer D, Zhuang G, Saxton MA, Joye SB, Lizarralde D, Soule SA, Ruff SE. Microbial Communities Under Distinct Thermal and Geochemical Regimes in Axial and Off-Axis Sediments of Guaymas Basin. Front Microbiol 2021; 12:633649. [PMID: 33643265 PMCID: PMC7906980 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.633649] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2020] [Accepted: 01/12/2021] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Cold seeps and hydrothermal vents are seafloor habitats fueled by subsurface energy sources. Both habitat types coexist in Guaymas Basin in the Gulf of California, providing an opportunity to compare microbial communities with distinct physiologies adapted to different thermal regimes. Hydrothermally active sites in the southern Guaymas Basin axial valley, and cold seep sites at Octopus Mound, a carbonate mound with abundant methanotrophic cold seep fauna at the Central Seep location on the northern off-axis flanking regions, show consistent geochemical and microbial differences between hot, temperate, cold seep, and background sites. The changing microbial actors include autotrophic and heterotrophic bacterial and archaeal lineages that catalyze sulfur, nitrogen, and methane cycling, organic matter degradation, and hydrocarbon oxidation. Thermal, biogeochemical, and microbiological characteristics of the sampling locations indicate that sediment thermal regime and seep-derived or hydrothermal energy sources structure the microbial communities at the sediment surface.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Teske
- Department of Marine Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
| | - Gunter Wegener
- Max-Planck-Institute for Marine Microbiology, Bremen, Germany.,MARUM, Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany
| | - Jeffrey P Chanton
- Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, United States
| | - Dylan White
- Department of Marine Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
| | - Barbara MacGregor
- Department of Marine Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States.,Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MI, United States
| | - Daniel Hoer
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United States.,United States Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC, United States
| | - Dirk de Beer
- Max-Planck-Institute for Marine Microbiology, Bremen, Germany
| | - Guangchao Zhuang
- Frontiers Science Centre for Deep Ocean Multispheres and Earth System (FDOMES)/Key Laboratory of Marine Chemistry Theory and Technology, Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China.,Laboratory for Marine Ecology and Environmental Science, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China.,Department of Marine Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
| | - Matthew A Saxton
- Department of Marine Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States.,Department of Biological Sciences, Miami University, Oxford, OH, United States
| | - Samantha B Joye
- Department of Marine Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United States
| | - Daniel Lizarralde
- Geology & Geophysics Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, United States
| | - S Adam Soule
- Geology & Geophysics Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, United States
| | - S Emil Ruff
- Marine Biological Laboratory, The Ecosystems Center, Woods Hole, MA, United States.,Marine Biological Laboratory, The Josephine Bay Paul Center for Comparative Molecular Biology and Evolution, Woods Hole, MA, United States
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49
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Talà A, Buccolieri A, Calcagnile M, Ciccarese G, Onorato M, Onorato R, Serra A, Spedicato F, Tredici SM, Alifano P, Belmonte G. Chemotrophic profiling of prokaryotic communities thriving on organic and mineral nutrients in a submerged coastal cave. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 755:142514. [PMID: 33038840 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.142514] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2020] [Revised: 09/15/2020] [Accepted: 09/15/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The geothermal system of the Salento peninsula (Italy) is characterized by the presence of many hydrogen sulfide-rich underground waters and thermal springs. We focused our attention on the submerged section of Zinzulùsa (Castro, Italy), a cave of both naturalistic and archaeological interest. In pioneer studies, some hypotheses about the origin of the sulfurous waters of this area were proposed. The most accredited one is that sulfate-enriched waters of marine origin infiltrate deep along bands with greater permeability, and warm-up going upwards, due to the geothermal gradient. During their route, marine waters interact with organic deposits and generate hydrogen sulfide as a result of sulfate reduction. To date, no studies have been conducted to elucidate the hydrogen sulfide origin in this site. The nature of reducing power and energy sources supporting microbial life in this submerged habitat is currently unknown. Here we present a multidisciplinary experimental approach aimed at defining geochemical features and microbiological diversity of the submerged habitat of Zinzulùsa cave. Our integrated data provide strong evidence that the sulfate content of the marine water and the activity of sulfate-reducing bacteria may account for the hydrogen sulfide content of the thermal springs. Anaerobic, sulfate-reducing, thermophilic Thermodesulfovibrio and hyperthermophilic Fervidobacterium genera show a high percentage contribution in 16S rRNA gene metabarcoding analyses, despite the mesophilic conditions of the sampling site. Besides, supported by PICRUSt functional analysis, we propose a chemotrophic model in which hydrocarbon deposits, entrapped in the stratifications of the seafloor, may be exploited by anaerobic oil-degrading bacteria as carbon and energy sources to sustain efficient hydrogen, sulfur, and nitrogen biogeochemical cycles. The Zinzulùsa hydrothermal site represents an ecosystem useful to obtain new insights into prokaryotic mutual interactions in oligotrophic and aphotic conditions, which constitute the largest environment of the biosphere.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adelfia Talà
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies, University of Salento, Via Monteroni, 73100 Lecce, Italy.
| | - Alessandro Buccolieri
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies, University of Salento, Via Monteroni, 73100 Lecce, Italy
| | - Matteo Calcagnile
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies, University of Salento, Via Monteroni, 73100 Lecce, Italy
| | - Gaetano Ciccarese
- Gruppo Speleologico Salentino "P. De Lorentiis", Piazza C. Colombo, Castro, 73030 Lecce, Italy
| | - Michele Onorato
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies, University of Salento, Via Monteroni, 73100 Lecce, Italy; Scuba Speleodiving Association APOGON Onlus, 73048 Nardò, Italy
| | | | - Antonio Serra
- Department of Mathematics and Physics "E. De Giorgi", University of Salento, Via Monteroni, 73100 Lecce, Italy
| | - Francesco Spedicato
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies, University of Salento, Via Monteroni, 73100 Lecce, Italy
| | - Salvatore Maurizio Tredici
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies, University of Salento, Via Monteroni, 73100 Lecce, Italy
| | - Pietro Alifano
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies, University of Salento, Via Monteroni, 73100 Lecce, Italy
| | - Genuario Belmonte
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies, University of Salento, Via Monteroni, 73100 Lecce, Italy
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Convergent Evolution of a Promiscuous 3-Hydroxypropionyl-CoA Dehydratase/Crotonyl-CoA Hydratase in Crenarchaeota and Thaumarchaeota. mSphere 2021; 6:6/1/e01079-20. [PMID: 33472982 PMCID: PMC7845616 DOI: 10.1128/msphere.01079-20] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Inorganic carbon fixation is the most important biosynthetic process on Earth and the oldest type of metabolism. The autotrophic HP/HB cycle functions in Crenarchaea of the order Sulfolobales and in ammonia-oxidizing Archaea of the phylum Thaumarchaeota that are highly abundant in marine, terrestrial, and geothermal environments. The autotrophic 3-hydroxypropionate/4-hydroxybutyrate (HP/HB) cycle functions in thermoacidophilic, (micro)aerobic, hydrogen-oxidizing Crenarchaeota of the order Sulfolobales as well as in mesophilic, aerobic, ammonia-oxidizing Thaumarchaeota. Notably, the HP/HB cycle evolved independently in these two archaeal lineages, and crenarchaeal and thaumarchaeal versions differ regarding their enzyme properties and phylogeny. These differences result in altered energetic efficiencies between the variants. Compared to the crenarchaeal HP/HB cycle, the thaumarchaeal variant saves two ATP equivalents per turn, rendering it the most energy-efficient aerobic pathway for carbon fixation. Characteristically, the HP/HB cycle includes two enoyl coenzyme A (CoA) hydratase reactions: the 3-hydroxypropionyl-CoA dehydratase reaction and the crotonyl-CoA hydratase reaction. In this study, we show that both reactions are catalyzed in the aforementioned archaeal groups by a promiscuous 3-hydroxypropionyl-CoA dehydratase/crotonyl-CoA hydratase (Msed_2001 in crenarchaeon Metallosphaera sedula and Nmar_1308 in thaumarchaeon Nitrosopumilus maritimus). Although these two enzymes are homologous, they are closely related to bacterial enoyl-CoA hydratases and were retrieved independently from the same enzyme pool by the ancestors of Crenarchaeota and Thaumarchaeota, despite the existence of multiple alternatives. This striking similarity in the emergence of enzymes involved in inorganic carbon fixation from two independently evolved pathways highlights that convergent evolution of autotrophy could be much more widespread than anticipated. IMPORTANCE Inorganic carbon fixation is the most important biosynthetic process on Earth and the oldest type of metabolism. The autotrophic HP/HB cycle functions in Crenarchaeota of the order Sulfolobales and in ammonia-oxidizing Archaea of the phylum Thaumarchaeota that are highly abundant in marine, terrestrial, and geothermal environments. Bioinformatic prediction of the autotrophic potential of microorganisms or microbial communities requires identification of enzymes involved in autotrophy. However, many microorganisms possess several isoenzymes that may potentially catalyze the reactions of the cycle. Here, we studied the enzymes catalyzing 3-hydroxypropionyl-CoA dehydration and crotonyl-CoA hydration in Nitrosopumilus maritimus (Thaumarchaeota) as well as in Metallosphaera sedula (Crenarchaeota). We showed that both reactions were catalyzed by homologous promiscuous enzymes, which evolved independently from each other from their bacterial homologs. Furthermore, the HP/HB cycle is of applied value, and knowledge of its enzymes is necessary to transfer them to a heterologous host for synthesis of various value-added products.
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