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Jia Z, Lipus D, Burckhardt O, Bussert R, Sondermann M, Bartholomäus A, Wagner D, Kallmeyer J. Enrichment of rare methanogenic Archaea shows their important ecological role in natural high-CO 2 terrestrial subsurface environments. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1105259. [PMID: 37293225 PMCID: PMC10246774 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1105259] [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: 11/22/2022] [Accepted: 04/25/2023] [Indexed: 06/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Long-term stability of underground CO2 storage is partially affected by microbial activity but our knowledge of these effects is limited, mainly due to a lack of sites. A consistently high flux of mantle-derived CO2 makes the Eger Rift in the Czech Republic a natural analogue to underground CO2 storage. The Eger Rift is a seismically active region and H2 is produced abiotically during earthquakes, providing energy to indigenous microbial communities. Methods To investigate the response of a microbial ecosystem to high levels of CO2 and H2, we enriched microorganisms from samples from a 239.5 m long drill core from the Eger Rift. Microbial abundance, diversity and community structure were assessed using qPCR and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Enrichment cultures were set up with minimal mineral media and H2/CO2 headspace to simulate a seismically active period with elevated H2. Results and discussion Methane headspace concentrations in the enrichments indicated that active methanogens were almost exclusively restricted to enrichment cultures from Miocene lacustrine deposits (50-60 m), for which we observed the most significant growth. Taxonomic assessment showed microbial communities in these enrichments to be less diverse than those with little or no growth. Active enrichments were especially abundant in methanogens of the taxa Methanobacterium and Methanosphaerula. Concurrent to the emergence of methanogenic archaea, we also observed sulfate reducers with the metabolic ability to utilize H2 and CO2, specifically the genus Desulfosporosinus, which were able to outcompete methanogens in several enrichments. Low microbial abundance and a diverse non-CO2 driven microbial community, similar to that in drill core samples, also reflect the inactivity in these cultures. Significant growth of sulfate reducing and methanogenic microbial taxa, which make up only a small fraction of the total microbial community, emphasize the need to account for rare biosphere taxa when assessing the metabolic potential of microbial subsurface populations. The observation that CO2 and H2-utilizing microorganisms could only be enriched from a narrow depth interval suggests that factors such as sediment heterogeneity may also be important. This study provides new insight on subsurface microbes under the influence of high CO2 concentrations, similar to those found in CCS sites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zeyu Jia
- GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Section Geomicrobiology, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Daniel Lipus
- GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Section Geomicrobiology, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Oliver Burckhardt
- GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Section Geomicrobiology, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Robert Bussert
- Applied Geochemistry, Institute of Applied Geosciences, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Megan Sondermann
- GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Section Geomicrobiology, Potsdam, Germany
| | | | - Dirk Wagner
- GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Section Geomicrobiology, Potsdam, Germany
- Institute of Geosciences, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Jens Kallmeyer
- GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Section Geomicrobiology, Potsdam, Germany
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Liu Q, Adler K, Lipus D, Kämpf H, Bussert R, Plessen B, Schulz HM, Krauze P, Horn F, Wagner D, Mangelsdorf K, Alawi M. Microbial Signatures in Deep CO 2-Saturated Miocene Sediments of the Active Hartoušov Mofette System (NW Czech Republic). Front Microbiol 2020; 11:543260. [PMID: 33381087 PMCID: PMC7768021 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.543260] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2020] [Accepted: 11/20/2020] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The Hartoušov mofette system is a natural CO2 degassing site in the central Cheb Basin (Eger Rift, Central Europe). In early 2016 a 108 m deep core was obtained from this system to investigate the impact of ascending mantle-derived CO2 on indigenous deep microbial communities and their surrounding life habitat. During drilling, a CO2 blow out occurred at a depth of 78.5 meter below surface (mbs) suggesting a CO2 reservoir associated with a deep low-permeable CO2-saturated saline aquifer at the transition from Early Miocene terrestrial to lacustrine sediments. Past microbial communities were investigated by hopanoids and glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) reflecting the environmental conditions during the time of deposition rather than showing a signal of the current deep biosphere. The composition and distribution of the deep microbial community potentially stimulated by the upward migration of CO2 starting during Mid Pleistocene time was investigated by intact polar lipids (IPLs), quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) analysis. The deep biosphere is characterized by microorganisms that are linked to the distribution and migration of the ascending CO2-saturated groundwater and the availability of organic matter instead of being linked to single lithological units of the investigated rock profile. Our findings revealed high relative abundances of common soil and water bacteria, in particular the facultative, anaerobic and potential iron-oxidizing Acidovorax and other members of the family Comamonadaceae across the whole recovered core. The results also highlighted the frequent detection of the putative sulfate-oxidizing and CO2-fixating genus Sulfuricurvum at certain depths. A set of new IPLs are suggested to be indicative for microorganisms associated to CO2 accumulation in the mofette system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qi Liu
- Section Geomicrobiology, GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany.,Institute of Geosciences, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Karsten Adler
- Institute of Geosciences, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany.,Section Organic Geochemistry, GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Daniel Lipus
- Section Geomicrobiology, GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Horst Kämpf
- Section Organic Geochemistry, GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Robert Bussert
- Section Applied Geochemistry, Institute of Applied Geosciences, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Birgit Plessen
- Section Climate Dynamics and Landscape Evolution, GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Hans-Martin Schulz
- Section Organic Geochemistry, GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Patryk Krauze
- Section Geomicrobiology, GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany.,Institute of Geosciences, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Fabian Horn
- Section Geomicrobiology, GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Dirk Wagner
- Section Geomicrobiology, GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany.,Institute of Geosciences, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Kai Mangelsdorf
- Section Organic Geochemistry, GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Mashal Alawi
- Section Geomicrobiology, GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany
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