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Suffridge CP, Shannon KC, Matthews H, Johnson RC, Jeffres C, Mantua N, Ward AE, Holmes E, Kindopp J, Aidoo M, Colwell FS. Connecting thiamine availability to the microbial community composition in Chinook salmon spawning habitats of the Sacramento River basin. Appl Environ Microbiol 2024; 90:e0176023. [PMID: 38084986 PMCID: PMC10807462 DOI: 10.1128/aem.01760-23] [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: 10/05/2023] [Accepted: 10/27/2023] [Indexed: 01/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Thiamine deficiency complex (TDC) is a major emerging threat to global populations of culturally and economically important populations of salmonids. Salmonid eggs and embryos can assimilate exogenous thiamine, and evidence suggests that microbial communities in benthic environments can produce substantial amounts of thiamine. We therefore hypothesize that natural dissolved pools of thiamine exist in the surface water and hyporheic zones of riverine habitats where salmonids with TDC migrate, spawn, and begin their lives. To examine the relationship between dissolved thiamine-related compounds (dTRCs) and their microbial source, we determined the concentrations of these metabolites and the compositions of microbial communities in surface and hyporheic waters of the Sacramento River, California and its tributaries. Here we determine that all dTRCs are present in femto-picomolar concentrations in a range of critically important salmon spawning habitats. We observed that thiamine concentrations in the Sacramento River system are orders of magnitude lower than those of marine waters, indicating substantial differences in thiamine cycling between these two environments. Our data suggest that the hyporheic zone is likely the source of thiamine to the overlying surface water. Temporal variations in dTRC concentrations were observed where the highest concentrations existed when Chinook salmon were actively spawning. Significant correlations were seen between the richness of microbial taxa and dTRC concentrations, particularly in the hyporheic zone, which would influence the conditions where embryonic salmon incubate. Together, these results indicate a connection between microbial communities in freshwater habitats and the availability of thiamine to spawning TDC-impacted California Central Valley Chinook salmon.IMPORTANCEPacific salmon are keystone species with considerable economic importance and immeasurable cultural significance to Pacific Northwest indigenous peoples. Thiamine deficiency complex has recently been diagnosed as an emerging threat to the health and stability of multiple populations of salmonids ranging from California to Alaska. Microbial biosynthesis is the major source of thiamine in marine and aquatic environments. Despite this importance, the concentrations of thiamine and the identities of the microbial communities that cycle it are largely unknown. Here we investigate microbial communities and their relationship to thiamine in Chinook salmon spawning habitats in California's Sacramento River system to gain an understanding of how thiamine availability impacts salmonids suffering from thiamine deficiency complex.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kelly C. Shannon
- Department of Microbiology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USA
| | - H. Matthews
- Department of Microbiology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USA
| | - R. C. Johnson
- Fisheries Ecology Division, NOAA Fisheries, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, Santa Cruz, California, USA
- University of California, Center for Watershed Sciences, Davis, California, USA
| | - C. Jeffres
- University of California, Center for Watershed Sciences, Davis, California, USA
| | - N. Mantua
- Fisheries Ecology Division, NOAA Fisheries, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, Santa Cruz, California, USA
| | - A. E. Ward
- University of California, Center for Watershed Sciences, Davis, California, USA
| | - E. Holmes
- University of California, Center for Watershed Sciences, Davis, California, USA
- California Department of Water Resources, West Sacramento, California, USA
| | - J. Kindopp
- California Department of Water Resources, Division of Integrated Science and Engineering, Oroville, California, USA
| | - M. Aidoo
- Bronx Community College, Bronx, New York, USA
| | - F. S. Colwell
- Department of Microbiology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USA
- College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USA
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