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Viladomat Jasso M, García-Ulloa M, Zapata-Peñasco I, Eguiarte LE, Souza V. Metagenomic insight into taxonomic composition, environmental filtering and functional redundancy for shaping worldwide modern non-lithifying microbial mats. PeerJ 2024; 12:e17412. [PMID: 38827283 PMCID: PMC11144394 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.17412] [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] [Received: 05/30/2023] [Accepted: 04/26/2024] [Indexed: 06/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Modern microbial mats are relictual communities mostly found in extreme environments worldwide. Despite their significance as representatives of the ancestral Earth and their important roles in biogeochemical cycling, research on microbial mats has largely been localized, focusing on site-specific descriptions and environmental change experiments. Here, we present a global comparative analysis of non-lithifying microbial mats, integrating environmental measurements with metagenomic data from 62 samples across eight sites, including two new samples from the recently discovered Archaean Domes from Cuatro Ciénegas, Mexico. Our results revealed a notable influence of environmental filtering on both taxonomic and functional compositions of microbial mats. Functional redundancy appears to confer resilience to mats, with essential metabolic pathways conserved across diverse and highly contrasting habitats. We identified six highly correlated clusters of taxa performing similar ecological functions, suggesting niche partitioning and functional specialization as key mechanisms shaping community structure. Our findings provide insights into the ecological principles governing microbial mats, and lay the foundation for future research elucidating the intricate interplay between environmental factors and microbial community dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariette Viladomat Jasso
- Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | | | - Icoquih Zapata-Peñasco
- Dirección de Investigación en Transformación de Hidrocarburos, Instituto Mexicano del Petróleo, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Luis E. Eguiarte
- Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Valeria Souza
- Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, Mexico
- Centro de Estudios del Cuaternario de Fuego-Patagonia y Antártica (CEQUA), Punta Arenas, Chile
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Wong HL, White RA, Visscher PT, Charlesworth JC, Vázquez-Campos X, Burns BP. Disentangling the drivers of functional complexity at the metagenomic level in Shark Bay microbial mat microbiomes. ISME JOURNAL 2018; 12:2619-2639. [PMID: 29980796 DOI: 10.1038/s41396-018-0208-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2017] [Revised: 04/27/2018] [Accepted: 06/01/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The functional metagenomic potential of Shark Bay microbial mats was examined for the first time at a millimeter scale, employing shotgun sequencing of communities via the Illumina NextSeq 500 platform in conjunction with defined chemical analyses. A detailed functional metagenomic profile has elucidated key pathways and facilitated inference of critical microbial interactions. In addition, 87 medium-to-high-quality metagenome-assembled genomes (MAG) were assembled, including potentially novel bins under the deep-branching archaeal Asgard group (Thorarchaetoa and Lokiarchaeota). A range of pathways involved in carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, and phosphorus cycles were identified in mat metagenomes, with the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway over-represented and inferred as a major carbon fixation mode. The top five sets of genes were affiliated to sulfate assimilation (cysNC cysNCD, sat), methanogenesis (hdrABC), Wood-Ljungdahl pathways (cooS, coxSML), phosphate transport (pstB), and copper efflux (copA). Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) synthase genes were over-represented at the surface, with PHA serving as a potential storage of fixed carbon. Sulfur metabolism genes were highly represented, in particular complete sets of genes responsible for both assimilatory and dissimilatory sulfate reduction. Pathways of environmental adaptation (UV, hypersalinity, oxidative stress, and heavy metal resistance) were also delineated, as well as putative viral defensive mechanisms (core genes of the CRISPR, BREX, and DISARM systems). This study provides new metagenome-based models of how biogeochemical cycles and adaptive responses may be partitioned in the microbial mats of Shark Bay.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hon Lun Wong
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.,Australian Centre for Astrobiology, University of New South Wales Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Richard Allen White
- Institute of Biological Chemistry, Washington State University, Pullman, USA
| | - Pieter T Visscher
- Australian Centre for Astrobiology, University of New South Wales Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.,Department of Marine Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA
| | - James C Charlesworth
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.,Australian Centre for Astrobiology, University of New South Wales Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Xabier Vázquez-Campos
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Brendan P Burns
- School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia. .,Australian Centre for Astrobiology, University of New South Wales Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
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Poddar N, Sen R, Martin GJ. Glycerol and nitrate utilisation by marine microalgae Nannochloropsis salina and Chlorella sp. and associated bacteria during mixotrophic and heterotrophic growth. ALGAL RES 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.algal.2018.06.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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Martínez-Gutiérrez CA, Latisnere-Barragán H, García-Maldonado JQ, López-Cortés A. Screening of polyhydroxyalkanoate-producing bacteria and PhaC-encoding genes in two hypersaline microbial mats from Guerrero Negro, Baja California Sur, Mexico. PeerJ 2018; 6:e4780. [PMID: 29761063 PMCID: PMC5944434 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.4780] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2018] [Accepted: 04/23/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Hypersaline microbial mats develop through seasonal and diel fluctuations, as well as under several physicochemical variables. Hence, resident microorganisms commonly employ strategies such as the synthesis of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) in order to resist changing and stressful conditions. However, the knowledge of bacterial PHA production in hypersaline microbial mats has been limited to date, particularly in regard to medium-chain length PHAs (mcl-PHAs), which have biotechnological applications due to their plastic properties. The aim of this study was to obtain evidence for PHA production in two hypersaline microbial mats of Guerrero Negro, Mexico by searching for PHA granules and PHA synthase genes in isolated bacterial strains and environmental samples. Six PHA-producing strains were identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing; three of them corresponded to a Halomonas sp. In addition, Paracoccus sp., Planomicrobium sp. and Staphylococcus sp. were also identified as PHA producers. Presumptive PHA granules and PHA synthases genes were detected in both sampling sites. Moreover, phylogenetic analysis showed that most of the phylotypes were distantly related to putative PhaC synthases class I sequences belonging to members of the classes Alphaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria distributed within eight families, with higher abundances corresponding mainly to Rhodobacteraceae and Rhodospirillaceae. This analysis also showed that PhaC synthases class II sequences were closely related to those of Pseudomonas putida, suggesting the presence of this group, which is probably involved in the production of mcl-PHA in the mats. According to our state of knowledge, this study reports for the first time the occurrence of phaC and phaC1 sequences in hypersaline microbial mats, suggesting that these ecosystems may be a novel source for the isolation of short- and medium-chain length PHA producers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolina A Martínez-Gutiérrez
- Laboratorio de Geomicrobiología y Biotecnología, Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas del Noroeste, La Paz, Baja California Sur, México
| | - Hever Latisnere-Barragán
- Laboratorio de Geomicrobiología y Biotecnología, Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas del Noroeste, La Paz, Baja California Sur, México
| | - José Q García-Maldonado
- CONACYT-Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mérida, Yucatán, México
| | - Alejandro López-Cortés
- Laboratorio de Geomicrobiología y Biotecnología, Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas del Noroeste, La Paz, Baja California Sur, México
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Highly complex substrates lead to dynamic bacterial community for polyhydroxyalkanoates production. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2017; 44:1215-1224. [DOI: 10.1007/s10295-017-1951-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2016] [Accepted: 05/05/2017] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Abstract
Mixed microbial cultures (MMC) and waste/surplus substrates, as hardwood spent sulfite liquor, are being used to decrease polyhydroxyalkanoates’ (PHA) production costs. The process involves two or three steps, being the selection step a crucial one. For the industrial implementation of this strategy, reactor stability in terms of both performance and microbial community presence has to be considered. A long-term operation of a sequencing batch reactor under feast/famine conditions was performed along with microbial community identification/quantification using FISH and DGGE. The community was found to be extremely dynamic, dominated by Alphaproteobacteria, with Paracoccus and Rhodobacter present, both PHA-storing microorganisms. 16S rRNA gene clone library further revealed that side populations’ non-PHA accumulators were able to strive (Agrobacterium, Flavobacteria, and Brachymonas). Nevertheless, reactor performance in terms of PHA storage was stable during operation time. The monitoring of the MMC population evolution provided information on the relation between community structure and process operation.
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Hubas C, Jesus B, Passarelli C, Jeanthon C. Tools providing new insight into coastal anoxygenic purple bacterial mats: review and perspectives. Res Microbiol 2011; 162:858-68. [DOI: 10.1016/j.resmic.2011.03.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2010] [Accepted: 03/16/2011] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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Koller M, Gasser I, Schmid F, Berg G. Linking ecology with economy: Insights into polyhydroxyalkanoate-producing microorganisms. Eng Life Sci 2011. [DOI: 10.1002/elsc.201000190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 87] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
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