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Wei M, Zeng X, Han X, Shao Z, Xie Q, Dong C, Wang Y, Qiu Z. Potential autotrophic carbon-fixer and Fe(II)-oxidizer Alcanivorax sp. MM125-6 isolated from Wocan hydrothermal field. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:930601. [PMID: 36316996 PMCID: PMC9616709 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.930601] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2022] [Accepted: 09/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
The genus Alcanivorax is common in various marine environments, including in hydrothermal fields. They were previously recognized as obligate hydrocarbonoclastic bacteria, but their potential for autotrophic carbon fixation and Fe(II)-oxidation remains largely elusive. In this study, an in situ enrichment experiment was performed using a hydrothermal massive sulfide slab deployed 300 m away from the Wocan hydrothermal vent. Furthermore, the biofilms on the surface of the slab were used as an inoculum, with hydrothermal massive sulfide powder from the same vent as an energy source, to enrich the potential iron oxidizer in the laboratory. Three dominant bacterial families, Alcanivoraceae, Pseudomonadaceae, and Rhizobiaceae, were enriched in the medium with hydrothermal massive sulfides. Subsequently, strain Alcanivorax sp. MM125-6 was isolated from the enrichment culture. It belongs to the genus Alcanivorax and is closely related to Alcanivorax profundimaris ST75FaO-1T (98.9% sequence similarity) indicated by a phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences. Autotrophic growth experiments on strain MM125-6 revealed that the cell concentrations were increased from an initial 7.5 × 105 cells/ml to 3.13 × 108 cells/ml after 10 days, and that the δ13CVPDB in the cell biomass was also increased from 234.25‰ on day 2 to gradually 345.66 ‰ on day 10. The gradient tube incubation showed that bands of iron oxides and cells formed approximately 1 and 1.5 cm, respectively, below the air-agarose medium interface. In addition, the SEM-EDS data demonstrated that it can also secrete acidic exopolysaccharides and adhere to the surface of sulfide minerals to oxidize Fe(II) with NaHCO3 as the sole carbon source, which accelerates hydrothermal massive sulfide dissolution. These results support the conclusion that strain MM125-6 is capable of autotrophic carbon fixation and Fe(II) oxidization chemoautotrophically. This study expands our understanding of the metabolic versatility of the Alcanivorax genus as well as their important role(s) in coupling hydrothermal massive sulfide weathering and iron and carbon cycles in hydrothermal fields.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mingcong Wei
- Ocean College, Zhejiang University, Zhoushan, China
- Key Laboratory of Submarine Geosciences, Second Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Hangzhou, China
| | - Xiang Zeng
- Key Laboratory of Marine Biogenetic Resources, Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen, China
| | - Xiqiu Han
- Ocean College, Zhejiang University, Zhoushan, China
- Key Laboratory of Submarine Geosciences, Second Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Hangzhou, China
- *Correspondence: Xiqiu Han,
| | - Zongze Shao
- Key Laboratory of Marine Biogenetic Resources, Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen, China
| | - Qian Xie
- Key Laboratory of Submarine Geosciences, Second Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Hangzhou, China
- School of Oceanography, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Chuanqi Dong
- Key Laboratory of Submarine Geosciences, Second Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Hangzhou, China
- College of Marine Geosciences, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China
| | - Yejian Wang
- Key Laboratory of Submarine Geosciences, Second Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Hangzhou, China
| | - Zhongyan Qiu
- Key Laboratory of Submarine Geosciences, Second Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Hangzhou, China
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D’Angelo T, Goordial J, Poulton NJ, Seyler L, Huber JA, Stepanauskas R, Orcutt BN. Oceanic Crustal Fluid Single Cell Genomics Complements Metagenomic and Metatranscriptomic Surveys With Orders of Magnitude Less Sample Volume. Front Microbiol 2022; 12:738231. [PMID: 35140689 PMCID: PMC8819061 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.738231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2021] [Accepted: 11/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Fluids circulating through oceanic crust play important roles in global biogeochemical cycling mediated by their microbial inhabitants, but studying these sites is challenged by sampling logistics and low biomass. Borehole observatories installed at the North Pond study site on the western flank of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge have enabled investigation of the microbial biosphere in cold, oxygenated basaltic oceanic crust. Here we test a methodology that applies redox-sensitive fluorescent molecules for flow cytometric sorting of cells for single cell genomic sequencing from small volumes of low biomass (approximately 103 cells ml-1) crustal fluid. We compare the resulting genomic data to a recently published paired metagenomic and metatranscriptomic analysis from the same site. Even with low coverage genome sequencing, sorting cells from less than one milliliter of crustal fluid results in similar interpretation of dominant taxa and functional profiles as compared to 'omics analysis that typically filter orders of magnitude more fluid volume. The diverse community dominated by Gammaproteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Desulfobacterota, Alphaproteobacteria, and Zetaproteobacteria, had evidence of autotrophy and heterotrophy, a variety of nitrogen and sulfur cycling metabolisms, and motility. Together, results indicate fluorescence activated cell sorting methodology is a powerful addition to the toolbox for the study of low biomass systems or at sites where only small sample volumes are available for analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy D’Angelo
- Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, East Boothbay, ME, United States
| | - Jacqueline Goordial
- Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, East Boothbay, ME, United States
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - Nicole J. Poulton
- Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, East Boothbay, ME, United States
| | - Lauren Seyler
- School of Natural Science and Mathematics, Stockton University, Galloway, NJ, United States
- Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, United States
| | - Julie A. Huber
- Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, United States
| | | | - Beth N. Orcutt
- Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, East Boothbay, ME, United States
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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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A sulfate-reducing bacterial genus, Desulfosediminicola gen. nov., comprising two novel species cultivated from tidal-flat sediments. Sci Rep 2021; 11:19978. [PMID: 34620953 PMCID: PMC8497536 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-99469-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2021] [Accepted: 09/27/2021] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Tidal-flat sediments harbor a diverse array of sulfate-reducing bacteria. To isolate novel sulfate-reducing bacteria and determine their abundance, a tidal-flat sediment sample collected off Ganghwa Island (Korea) was investigated using cultivation-based and culture-independent approaches. Two Gram-stain-negative, strictly anaerobic, rod-shaped, sulfate-reducing bacteria, designated IMCC35004T and IMCC35005T, were isolated from the sample. The two strains reduced sulfate, sulfite, elemental sulfur, thiosulfate, Fe(III) citrate, and Mn(IV) oxide by utilizing several carbon sources, including acetate. The 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing revealed that the tidal-flat sediment contained diverse members of the phylum Desulfobacterota, and the phylotypes related to IMCC35004T and IMCC35005T were < 1%. The two strains shared 97.6% similarity in 16S rRNA gene sequence and were closely related to Desulfopila aestuarii DSM 18488T (96.1-96.5%). The average nucleotide identity, level of digital DNA-DNA hybridization, average amino acid identity, and percentages of conserved proteins determined analyzing the whole-genome sequences, as well as the chemotaxonomic data showed that the two strains belong to two novel species of a novel genus. Additionally, genes related to dissimilatory sulfate reduction were detected in the genomes of the two strains. Unlike the genera Desulfopila and Desulfotalea, IMCC35004T and IMCC35005T contained menaquinone-5 as the major respiratory quinone. Collectively, IMCC35004T and IMCC35005T were concluded to represent two novel species of a novel genus within the family Desulfocapsaceae, for which the names Desulfosediminicola ganghwensis gen. nov., sp. nov. (IMCC35004T = KCTC 15826T = NBRC 114003T) and Desulfosediminicola flagellatus sp. nov. (IMCC35005T = KCTC 15827T = NBRC 114004T) are proposed.
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Hallsworth JE, Mancinelli RL, Conley CA, Dallas TD, Rinaldi T, Davila AF, Benison KC, Rapoport A, Cavalazzi B, Selbmann L, Changela H, Westall F, Yakimov MM, Amils R, Madigan MT. Astrobiology of life on Earth. Environ Microbiol 2021; 23:3335-3344. [PMID: 33817931 DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.15499] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2021] [Accepted: 04/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Astrobiology is mistakenly regarded by some as a field confined to studies of life beyond Earth. Here, we consider life on Earth through an astrobiological lens. Whereas classical studies of microbiology historically focused on various anthropocentric sub-fields (such as fermented foods or commensals and pathogens of crop plants, livestock and humans), addressing key biological questions via astrobiological approaches can further our understanding of all life on Earth. We highlight potential implications of this approach through the articles in this Environmental Microbiology special issue 'Ecophysiology of Extremophiles'. They report on the microbiology of places/processes including low-temperature environments and chemically diverse saline- and hypersaline habitats; aspects of sulphur metabolism in hypersaline lakes, dysoxic marine waters, and thermal acidic springs; biology of extremophile viruses; the survival of terrestrial extremophiles on the surface of Mars; biological soils crusts and rock-associated microbes of deserts; subsurface and deep biosphere, including a salticle formed within Triassic halite; and interactions of microbes with igneous and sedimentary rocks. These studies, some of which we highlight here, contribute to our understanding of the spatiotemporal reach of Earth'sfunctional biosphere, and the tenacity of terrestrial life. Their findings will help set the stage for future work focused on the constraints for life, and how organisms adapt and evolve to circumvent these constraints.
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Affiliation(s)
- John E Hallsworth
- Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, 19 Chlorine Gardens, Belfast, BT9 7BL, UK
| | - Rocco L Mancinelli
- Bay Area Environmental Research Institute, NASA Ames Research Center, Mountain View, CA, 94035, USA
| | | | - Tiffany D Dallas
- Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, 19 Chlorine Gardens, Belfast, BT9 7BL, UK
| | - Teresa Rinaldi
- Department of Biology and Biotechnology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, 00185, Italy
| | | | - Kathleen C Benison
- Department of Geology and Geography, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, 26506-6300, USA
| | - Alexander Rapoport
- Laboratory of Cell Biology, Institute of Microbiology and Biotechnology, University of Latvia, Jelgavas Str., 1-537, Riga, LV-1004, Latvia
| | - Barbara Cavalazzi
- Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, 40126, Italy
| | - Laura Selbmann
- Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, University of Tuscia, Viterbo, 01100, Italy.,Italian Antarctic National Museum (MNA), Mycological Section, Genoa, 16128, Italy
| | - Hitesh Changela
- Key Laboratory of Earth and Planetary Physics, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100029, China.,Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA
| | - Frances Westall
- CNRS, Ctr Biophys Mol UPR 4301, Rue Charles Sadron, CS 80054, Orleans, F-45071, France
| | - Michail M Yakimov
- Institute of Marine Biological Resources and Biotechnology, IRBIM-CNR, Messina, 98122, Italy
| | - Ricardo Amils
- Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (CBMSO, CSICUAM), Cantoblanco, Madrid, 28049, Spain.,Centro de Astrobiología (CAB, INTA-CSIC), Torrejón de Ardoz, 28055, Spain
| | - Michael T Madigan
- School of Biological Sciences, Department of Microbiology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, 62901, USA
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Trembath-Reichert E, Shah Walter SR, Ortiz MAF, Carter PD, Girguis PR, Huber JA. Multiple carbon incorporation strategies support microbial survival in cold subseafloor crustal fluids. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2021; 7:7/18/eabg0153. [PMID: 33910898 PMCID: PMC8081358 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abg0153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2020] [Accepted: 03/09/2021] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Biogeochemical processes occurring in fluids that permeate oceanic crust make measurable contributions to the marine carbon cycle, but quantitative assessments of microbial impacts on this vast, subsurface carbon pool are lacking. We provide bulk and single-cell estimates of microbial biomass production from carbon and nitrogen substrates in cool, oxic basement fluids from the western flank of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The wide range in carbon and nitrogen incorporation rates indicates a microbial community well poised for dynamic conditions, potentially anabolizing carbon and nitrogen at rates ranging from those observed in subsurface sediments to those found in on-axis hydrothermal vent environments. Bicarbonate incorporation rates were highest where fluids are most isolated from recharging bottom seawater, suggesting that anabolism of inorganic carbon may be a potential strategy for supplementing the ancient and recalcitrant dissolved organic carbon that is prevalent in the globally distributed subseafloor crustal environment.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sunita R Shah Walter
- School of Marine Science and Policy, University of Delaware, Lewes, DE 19958, USA
| | | | - Patrick D Carter
- Department of Microbiology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA
| | - Peter R Girguis
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
- Department of Applied Ocean Engineering and Physics, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA
| | - Julie A Huber
- Department of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA
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