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Gutierrez‐Patricio S, Osman JR, Gonzalez‐Pimentel JL, Jurado V, Laiz L, Concepción AL, Saiz‐Jimenez C, Miller AZ. Microbiological exploration of the Cueva del Viento lava tube system in Tenerife, Canary Islands. Environ Microbiol Rep 2024; 16:e13245. [PMID: 38643985 PMCID: PMC11033209 DOI: 10.1111/1758-2229.13245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2023] [Accepted: 03/15/2024] [Indexed: 04/23/2024]
Abstract
Cueva del Viento, located in the Canary Islands, Spain, is the Earth's sixth-longest lava tube, spanning 18,500 m, and was formed approximately 27,000 years ago. This complex volcanic cave system is characterized by a unique geomorphology, featuring an intricate network of galleries. Despite its geological significance, the geomicrobiology of Cueva del Viento remains largely unexplored. This study employed a combination of culture-dependent techniques and metabarcoding data analysis to gain a comprehensive understanding of the cave's microbial diversity. The 16S rRNA gene metabarcoding approach revealed that the coloured microbial mats (yellow, red and white) coating the cave walls are dominated by the phyla Actinomycetota, Pseudomonadota and Acidobacteriota. Of particular interest is the high relative abundance of the genus Crossiella, which is involved in urease-mediated biomineralization processes, along with the presence of genera associated with nitrogen cycling, such as Nitrospira. Culture-dependent techniques provided insights into the morphological characteristics of the isolated species and their potential metabolic activities, particularly for the strains Streptomyces spp., Paenarthrobacter sp. and Pseudomonas spp. Our findings underscore the potential of Cueva del Viento as an ideal environment for studying microbial diversity and for the isolation and characterization of novel bacterial species of biotechnological interest.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jorge R. Osman
- Instituto de Geología Económica Aplicada (GEA)Universidad de ConcepciónConcepciónChile
| | - José Luis Gonzalez‐Pimentel
- Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Sevilla (IRNAS‐CSIC)SevillaSpain
- Laboratorio HERCULESUniversidade de ÉvoraÉvoraPortugal
| | - Valme Jurado
- Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Sevilla (IRNAS‐CSIC)SevillaSpain
| | - Leonila Laiz
- Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Sevilla (IRNAS‐CSIC)SevillaSpain
| | | | - Cesareo Saiz‐Jimenez
- Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Sevilla (IRNAS‐CSIC)SevillaSpain
| | - Ana Zélia Miller
- Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Sevilla (IRNAS‐CSIC)SevillaSpain
- Laboratorio HERCULESUniversidade de ÉvoraÉvoraPortugal
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Lange-Enyedi NT, Németh P, Borsodi AK, Spötl C, Makk J. Calcium carbonate precipitating extremophilic bacteria in an Alpine ice cave. Sci Rep 2024; 14:2710. [PMID: 38302670 PMCID: PMC10834452 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-53131-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2023] [Accepted: 01/29/2024] [Indexed: 02/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Extensive research has provided a wealth of data on prokaryotes in caves and their role in biogeochemical cycles. Ice caves in carbonate rocks, however, remain enigmatic environments with limited knowledge of their microbial taxonomic composition. In this study, bacterial and archaeal communities of the Obstans Ice Cave (Carnic Alps, Southern Austria) were analyzed by next-generation amplicon sequencing and by cultivation of bacterial strains at 10 °C and studying their metabolism. The most abundant bacterial taxa were uncultured Burkholderiaceae and Brevundimonas spp. in the drip water, Flavobacterium, Alkanindiges and Polaromonas spp. in the ice, Pseudonocardia, Blastocatella spp., uncultured Pyrinomonadaceae and Sphingomonadaceae in carbonate precipitates, and uncultured Gemmatimonadaceae and Longimicrobiaceae in clastic cave sediments. These taxa are psychrotolerant/psychrophilic and chemoorganotrophic bacteria. On a medium with Mg2+/Ca2+ = 1 at 21 °C and 10 °C, 65% and 35% of the cultivated strains precipitated carbonates, respectively. The first ~ 200 µm-size crystals appeared 2 and 6 weeks after the start of the cultivation experiments at 21 °C and 10 °C, respectively. The crystal structure of these microbially induced carbonate precipitates and their Mg-content are strongly influenced by the Mg2+/Ca2+ ratio of the culture medium. These results suggest that the high diversity of prokaryotic communities detected in cryogenic subsurface environments actively contributes to carbonate precipitation, despite living at the physical limit of the presence of liquid water.
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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, Budapest, 1112, Hungary
- Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biology, Faculty of Science, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány P. sétány 1/C, Budapest, 1117, Hungary
| | - Péter Németh
- Institute for Geological and Geochemical Research, HUN-REN Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences, Budaörsi út 45, Budapest, 1112, Hungary.
- Research Institute of Biomolecular and Chemical Engineering, Nanolab, University of Pannonia, Egyetem út 10, Veszprém, 8200, Hungary.
| | - Andrea K Borsodi
- Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biology, Faculty of Science, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány P. sétány 1/C, Budapest, 1117, Hungary
- Institute of Aquatic Ecology, HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research, Karolina út 29, Budapest, 1113, Hungary
| | - Christoph Spötl
- Institute of Geology, University of Innsbruck, Innrain 52, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Judit Makk
- Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biology, Faculty of Science, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány P. sétány 1/C, Budapest, 1117, Hungary
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Gogoleva N, Chervyatsova O, Balkin A, Kuzmina L, Shagimardanova E, Kiseleva D, Gogolev Y. Microbial tapestry of the Shulgan-Tash cave (Southern Ural, Russia): influences of environmental factors on the taxonomic composition of the cave biofilms. Environ Microbiome 2023; 18:82. [PMID: 37990336 PMCID: PMC10662634 DOI: 10.1186/s40793-023-00538-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2023] [Accepted: 11/09/2023] [Indexed: 11/23/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cave biotopes are characterized by stable low temperatures, high humidity, and scarcity of organic substrates. Despite the harsh oligotrophic conditions, they are often inhabited by rich microbial communities. Abundant fouling with a wide range of morphology and coloration of colonies covers the walls of the Shulgan-Tash cave in the Southern Urals. This cave is also famous for the unique Paleolithic painting discovered in the middle of the last century. We aimed to investigate the diversity, distribution, and potential impact of these biofilms on the cave's Paleolithic paintings, while exploring how environmental factors influence the microbial communities within the cave. RESULTS The cave's biofilm morphotypes were categorized into three types based on the ultrastructural similarities. Molecular taxonomic analysis identified two main clusters of microbial communities, with Actinobacteria dominating in most of them and a unique "CaveCurd" community with Gammaproteobacteria prevalent in the deepest cave sections. The species composition of these biofilms reflects changes in environmental conditions, such as substrate composition, temperature, humidity, ventilation, and CO2 content. Additionally, it was observed that cave biofilms contribute to biocorrosion on cave wall surfaces. CONCLUSIONS The Shulgan-Tash cave presents an intriguing example of a stable extreme ecosystem with diverse microbiota. However, the intense dissolution and deposition of carbonates caused by Actinobacteria pose a potential threat to the preservation of the cave's ancient rock paintings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalia Gogoleva
- Research Department for Limnology, Mondsee, Universität Innsbruck, Mondsee, 5310, Austria.
- Institute of Fundamental Medicine and Biology, Kazan Federal University, Kazan, 420111, Russia.
| | | | - Alexander Balkin
- Institute of Fundamental Medicine and Biology, Kazan Federal University, Kazan, 420111, Russia
- Institute for Cellular and Intracellular Symbiosis, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Orenburg, 460000, Russia
| | - Lyudmila Kuzmina
- Ufa Institute of Biology, Ufa Federal Research Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, Ufa, 450054, Russia
| | - Elena Shagimardanova
- Institute of Fundamental Medicine and Biology, Kazan Federal University, Kazan, 420111, Russia
- Loginov Moscow Clinical Scientific Center, Moscow, 111123, Russia
| | - Daria Kiseleva
- Institute of Geology and Geochemistry, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Ekaterinburg, 620016, Russia
- Institute of Fundamental Education, Ural Federal University named after the first President of Russia B.N. Yeltsin, Ekaterinburg, 620002, Russia
| | - Yuri Gogolev
- Institute of Fundamental Medicine and Biology, Kazan Federal University, Kazan, 420111, Russia
- Kazan Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Federal Research Center "Kazan Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences", Kazan, 420111, Russia
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Bogdan DF, Baricz AI, Chiciudean I, Bulzu PA, Cristea A, Năstase-Bucur R, Levei EA, Cadar O, Sitar C, Banciu HL, Moldovan OT. Diversity, distribution and organic substrates preferences of microbial communities of a low anthropic activity cave in North-Western Romania. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:962452. [PMID: 36825091 PMCID: PMC9941645 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.962452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2022] [Accepted: 01/17/2023] [Indexed: 02/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Karst caves are characterized by relatively constant temperature, lack of light, high humidity, and low nutrients availability. The diversity and functionality of the microorganisms dwelling in caves micro-habitats are yet underexplored. Therefore, in-depth investigations of these ecosystems aid in enlarging our understanding of the microbial interactions and microbially driven biogeochemical cycles. Here, we aimed at evaluating the diversity, abundance, distribution, and organic substrate preferences of microbial communities from Peștera cu Apă din Valea Leșului (Leșu Cave) located in the Apuseni Mountains (North-Western Romania). Materials and Methods To achieve this goal, we employed 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and community-level physiological profiling (CLPP) paralleled by the assessment of environmental parameters of cave sediments and water. Results and Discussion Pseudomonadota (synonym Proteobacteria) was the most prevalent phylum detected across all samples whereas the abundance detected at order level varied among sites and between water and sediment samples. Despite the general similarity at the phylum-level in Leșu Cave across the sampled area, the results obtained in this study suggest that specific sites drive bacterial community at the order-level, perhaps sustaining the enrichment of unique bacterial populations due to microenvironmental conditions. For most of the dominant orders the distribution pattern showed a positive correlation with C-sources such as putrescine, γ-amino butyric acid, and D-malic acid, while particular cases were positively correlated with polymers (Tween 40, Tween 80 and α-cyclodextrin), carbohydrates (α-D-lactose, i-erythritol, D-mannitol) and most of the carboxylic and ketonic acids. Physicochemical analysis reveals that sediments are geochemically distinct, with increased concentration of Ca, Fe, Al, Mg, Na and K, whereas water showed low nitrate concentration. Our PCA indicated the clustering of different dominant orders with Mg, As, P, Fe, and Cr. This information serves as a starting point for further studies in elucidating the links between the taxonomic and functional diversity of subterranean microbial communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diana Felicia Bogdan
- Doctoral School of Integrative Biology, Faculty of Biology and Geology, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania,Institute for Research, Development and Innovation in Applied Natural Sciences, Cluj-Napoca, Romania,*Correspondence: Diana Felicia Bogdan, ✉
| | - Andreea Ionela Baricz
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology and Geology, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Iulia Chiciudean
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology and Geology, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Paul-Adrian Bulzu
- Biology Centre CAS, Institute of Hydrobiology, Department of Aquatic Microbial Ecology, Laboratory of Microbial Ecology and Evolution, Ceske Budejovice, Czechia
| | - Adorján Cristea
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology and Geology, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Ruxandra Năstase-Bucur
- Emil Racovita Institute of Speleology, Cluj-Napoca Department, Cluj-Napoca, Romania,Romanian Institute of Science and Technology, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Erika Andrea Levei
- INCDO-INOE 2000, Research Institute for Analytical Instrumentation, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Oana Cadar
- INCDO-INOE 2000, Research Institute for Analytical Instrumentation, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Cristian Sitar
- Romanian Institute of Science and Technology, Cluj-Napoca, Romania,Zoological Museum, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Horia Leonard Banciu
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology and Geology, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania,Centre for Systems Biology, Biodiversity and Bioresources, Faculty of Biology and Geology, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania,Horia Leonard Banciu, ✉
| | - Oana Teodora Moldovan
- Emil Racovita Institute of Speleology, Cluj-Napoca Department, Cluj-Napoca, Romania,Romanian Institute of Science and Technology, Cluj-Napoca, Romania,Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana, CENIEH, Burgos, Spain
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Ruiz-Blas F, Muñoz-Hisado V, Garcia-Lopez E, Moreno A, Bartolomé M, Leunda M, Martinez-Alonso E, Alcázar A, Cid C. The hidden microbial ecosystem in the perennial ice from a Pyrenean ice cave. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1110091. [PMID: 36778858 PMCID: PMC9909108 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1110091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2022] [Accepted: 01/03/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Over the last years, perennial ice deposits located within caves have awakened interest as places to study microbial communities since they represent unique cryospheric archives of climate change. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, the temperature has gradually increased, and it is estimated that by the end of this century the increase in average temperature could be around 4.0°C. In this context of global warming the ice deposits of the Pyrenean caves are undergoing a significant regression. Among this type of caves, that on the Cotiella Massif in the Southern Pyrenees is one of the southernmost studied in Europe. These types of caves house microbial communities which have so far been barely explored, and therefore their study is necessary. In this work, the microbial communities of the Pyrenean ice cave A294 were identified using metabarcoding techniques. In addition, research work was carried out to analyze how the age and composition of the ice affect the composition of the bacterial and microeukaryotic populations. Finally, the in vivo effect of climate change on the cellular machinery that allow microorganisms to live with increasing temperatures has been studied using proteomic techniques.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fátima Ruiz-Blas
- Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), CSIC-INTA, Madrid, Spain
- Section Geomicrobiology, GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany
| | | | | | - Ana Moreno
- Departamento de Procesos Geoambientales y Cambio Global, Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología - CSIC, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Miguel Bartolomé
- Departamento de Procesos Geoambientales y Cambio Global, Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología - CSIC, Zaragoza, Spain
- Institut für Geologie und Mineralogie, Universität zu Köln, Köln, Germany
| | - Maria Leunda
- Institute of Plant Sciences and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- Swiss Federal Research Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Plant Biology and Ecology, University of the Basque Country, Leioa, Spain
| | - Emma Martinez-Alonso
- Department of Investigation, Instituto Ramón y Cajal de Investigación Sanitaria, Hospital Ramón y Cajal, Madrid, Spain
| | - Alberto Alcázar
- Department of Investigation, Instituto Ramón y Cajal de Investigación Sanitaria, Hospital Ramón y Cajal, Madrid, Spain
| | - Cristina Cid
- Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), CSIC-INTA, Madrid, Spain
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Pop MM, Di Lorenzo T, Iepure S. Living on the edge – An overview of invertebrates from groundwater habitats prone to extreme environmental conditions. Front Ecol Evol 2023. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.1054841] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Groundwater ecosystems from cold polar and circumpolar regions, hot springs, as well as those developed in salt, gypsum or in volcanic rocks are one of the environments considered to exhibit extreme environmental conditions such as low (below 0°C) or high (over 45°C) temperatures, hypersaline waters, or with elevated content of toxic gases like hydrogen sulfide or methane. They represent the “unseen ecosystem beneath our feet” and are inhabited by a large diversity of organisms, persisting and flourishing under severe environmental conditions that are usually hostile to the majority of organisms. These types of groundwater ecosystems are remarkable “evolutionary hotspots” that witnessed the adaptive radiation of morphologically and ecologically diverse species, whereas the organisms living here are good models to understand the evolutionary processes and historical factors involved in speciation and adaptation to severe environmental conditions. Here, we provide an overview of the groundwater invertebrates living in continental groundwater habitats prone to extreme environmental conditions in one or more physico-chemical parameters. Invertebrates are represented by a wide variety of taxonomic groups, however dominated by crustaceans that show specific adaptations mostly metabolic, physiologic, and behavioral. Symbiotic associations among bacteria and invertebrates are also discussed enlightening this biological interaction as a potential adaptation of different groundwater invertebrates to cope with severe environmental conditions. Given the high pressures that anthropogenic activities pose on groundwater habitats worldwide, we predict that several of these highly specialized organisms will be prone to extinction in the near future. Finally, we highlight the knowledge gaps and future research approaches in these particular groundwater ecosystems by using integrative-omic studies besides the molecular approach to shed light on genetic variation and phenotypic plasticity at species and populational levels.GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT
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Butarelli ACDA, Ferreira LSDS, Riyuzo R, Dall'Agnol HMB, Piroupo CM, da Silva AM, Setubal JC, Dall'Agnol LT. Diversity assessment of photosynthesizers: comparative analysis of pre-cultivated and natural microbiome of sediments from Cerrado biome in Maranhão, Brazil. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2022; 29:77359-77374. [PMID: 35675015 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-022-21229-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2022] [Accepted: 05/28/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Photosynthetic microorganisms are important components of most ecosystems and have important roles regarding biogeochemical cycles and the basis of the trophic chain. However, they sometimes are present in low abundance compared to other heterotrophic organisms. The Chapada das Mesas National Park (PNCM) is a Conservation Unit in Brazilian Cerrado biome, which is considered a hotspot for biodiversity conservation and possesses important rivers, waterfalls, and springs with economical and touristic importance. The aim of this study was to perform a comparative analysis of enriched and total microbiome of sediments to understand the impact of pre-cultivation in discovery of underrepresented groups like photosynthesizers. All sediment samples were cultivated in BG-11 medium under illumination to enrich for photosynthetic microorganisms and both the raw samples and the enriched ones were submitted to DNA extraction and sequencing of the V3-V4 hypervariable region of the 16S rRNA gene on the Ion Torrent platform. The reads were analyzed using QIIME2 software and the Phyloseq package. The enrichment allowed detection and identification of many genera of cyanobacteria in the Chapada das Mesas National Park (PNCM), which would probably not be possible without the combination of approaches. A total of 58 groups of photosynthetic microorganisms were classified in the samples from the enrichments and their relative abundance based on amplified 16S rRNA sequences were estimated, highlighting the genus Synechocystis which represented 10.10% of the abundance of the phylum Cyanobacteria and the genus Dunaliella, which represented 45.66% of the abundance of algae as the most abundant groups at the PNCM. In the enrichments, microorganisms from the phyla Proteobacteria (45.2%), Bacteroidetes (18%), and Planctomycetes (3.3%) were also identified, since there are ecological associations between the photosynthetic community and other groups of heterotrophic microorganisms. As for the functional analysis, metabolic functions associated with methanotrophy and methylotrophy, hydrocarbon degradation, phototrophy, and nitrogen fixation were predicted. The results highlight a great diversity of photosynthetic microorganisms in Cerrado and the importance of using a combination of approaches when analyzing target groups which are usually underrepresented such as cyanobacteria and microalgae.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Carolina de Araújo Butarelli
- Department of Biology, Center for Biological and Health Sciences, Federal University of Maranhão, Cidade Universitária Dom Delgado, Av. dos Portugueses, 1966,Vila Bacanga, São Luís, MA, 65080-805, Brazil
- Department of Biological Oceanography, Oceanographic Institute, University of São Paulo, Praça do Oceanográfico, 191, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP, 05508-120, Brazil
| | - Lucas Salomão de Sousa Ferreira
- Department of Biology, Center for Biological and Health Sciences, Federal University of Maranhão, Cidade Universitária Dom Delgado, Av. dos Portugueses, 1966,Vila Bacanga, São Luís, MA, 65080-805, Brazil
- Department of Biological Oceanography, Oceanographic Institute, University of São Paulo, Praça do Oceanográfico, 191, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP, 05508-120, Brazil
| | - Raquel Riyuzo
- Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Chemistry, University of São Paulo, Av. Prof. Lineu Prestes, 748, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP, 05508-000, Brazil
| | - Hivana Melo Barbosa Dall'Agnol
- Department of Pathology, Center for Biological and Health Sciences, Federal University of Maranhão, Cidade Universitária Dom Delgado, Av. dos Portugueses, 1966, Vila Bacanga, São Luís, MA, 65080-805, Brazil
| | - Carlos Morais Piroupo
- Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Chemistry, University of São Paulo, Av. Prof. Lineu Prestes, 748, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP, 05508-000, Brazil
| | - Aline Maria da Silva
- Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Chemistry, University of São Paulo, Av. Prof. Lineu Prestes, 748, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP, 05508-000, Brazil
| | - João Carlos Setubal
- Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Chemistry, University of São Paulo, Av. Prof. Lineu Prestes, 748, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP, 05508-000, Brazil
| | - Leonardo Teixeira Dall'Agnol
- Department of Biology, Center for Biological and Health Sciences, Federal University of Maranhão, Cidade Universitária Dom Delgado, Av. dos Portugueses, 1966,Vila Bacanga, São Luís, MA, 65080-805, Brazil.
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Ghezzi D, Foschi L, Firrincieli A, Hong PY, Vergara F, De Waele J, Sauro F, Cappelletti M. Insights into the microbial life in silica-rich subterranean environments: microbial communities and ecological interactions in an orthoquartzite cave (Imawarì Yeuta, Auyan Tepui, Venezuela). Front Microbiol 2022; 13:930302. [PMID: 36212823 PMCID: PMC9537377 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.930302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2022] [Accepted: 08/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Microbial communities inhabiting caves in quartz-rich rocks are still underexplored, despite their possible role in the silica cycle. The world’s longest orthoquartzite cave, Imawarì Yeuta, represents a perfect arena for the investigation of the interactions between microorganisms and silica in non-thermal environments due to the presence of extraordinary amounts of amorphous silica speleothems of different kinds. In this work, the microbial diversity of Imawarì Yeuta was dissected by analyzing nineteen samples collected from different locations representative of different silica amorphization phases and types of samples. Specifically, we investigated the major ecological patterns in cave biodiversity, specific taxa enrichment, and the main ecological clusters through co-occurrence network analysis. Water content greatly contributed to the microbial communities’ composition and structures in the cave leading to the sample clustering into three groups DRY, WET, and WATER. Each of these groups was enriched in members of Actinobacteriota, Acidobacteriota, and Gammaproteobacteria, respectively. Alpha diversity analysis showed the highest value of diversity and richness for the WET samples, while the DRY group had the lowest. This was accompanied by the presence of correlation patterns including either orders belonging to various phyla from WET samples or orders belonging to the Actinobacteriota and Firmicutes phyla from DRY group samples. The phylogenetic analysis of the dominant species in WET and DRY samples showed that Acidobacteriota and Actinobacteriota strains were affiliated with uncultured bacteria retrieved from various oligotrophic and silica/quartz-rich environments, not only associated with subterranean sites. Our results suggest that the water content greatly contributes to shaping the microbial diversity within a subterranean quartzite environment. Further, the phylogenetic affiliation between Imawarì Yeuta dominant microbes and reference strains retrieved from both surface and subsurface silica- and/or CO2/CO-rich environments, underlines the selective pressure applied by quartz as rock substrate. Oligotrophy probably in association with the geochemistry of silica/quartz low pH buffering activity and alternative energy sources led to the colonization of specific silica-associated microorganisms. This study provides clues for a better comprehension of the poorly known microbial life in subsurface and surface quartz-dominated environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniele Ghezzi
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- Laboratory of NanoBiotechnology, IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, Bologna, Italy
- *Correspondence: Daniele Ghezzi,
| | - Lisa Foschi
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Andrea Firrincieli
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Pei-Ying Hong
- Division of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Freddy Vergara
- Teraphosa Exploring Team, Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela
- La Venta Geographic Explorations Association, Treviso, Italy
| | - Jo De Waele
- La Venta Geographic Explorations Association, Treviso, Italy
- Department of Biological Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Francesco Sauro
- Teraphosa Exploring Team, Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela
- La Venta Geographic Explorations Association, Treviso, Italy
- Department of Biological Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Martina Cappelletti
- Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- Martina Cappelletti,
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Mondini A, Anwar MZ, Ellegaard-Jensen L, Lavin P, Jacobsen CS, Purcarea C. Heat Shock Response of the Active Microbiome From Perennial Cave Ice. Front Microbiol 2022; 12:809076. [PMID: 35360653 PMCID: PMC8960993 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.809076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2021] [Accepted: 12/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Ice caves constitute the newly investigated frozen and secluded model habitats for evaluating the resilience of ice-entrapped microbiomes in response to climate changes. This survey identified the total and active prokaryotic and eukaryotic communities from millennium-old ice accumulated in Scarisoara cave (Romania) using Illumina shotgun sequencing of the ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and messenger RNA (mRNA)-based functional analysis of the metatranscriptome. Also, the response of active microbiome to heat shock treatment mimicking the environmental shift during ice melting was evaluated at both the taxonomic and metabolic levels. The putatively active microbial community was dominated by bacterial taxa belonging to Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes, which are highly resilient to thermal variations, while the scarcely present archaea belonging to Methanomicrobia was majorly affected by heat shock. Among eukaryotes, the fungal rRNA community was shared between the resilient Chytridiomycota and Blastocladiomycota, and the more sensitive Ascomycota and Basidiomycota taxa. A complex microeukaryotic community highly represented by Tardigrada and Rotifera (Metazoa), Ciliophora and Cercozoa (Protozoa), and Chlorophyta (Plantae) was evidenced for the first time in this habitat. This community showed a quick reaction to heat shock, followed by a partial recovery after prolonged incubation at 4°C due to possible predation processes on the prokaryotic cluster. Analysis of mRNA differential gene expression revealed the presence of an active microbiome in the perennial ice from the Scarisoara cave and associated molecular mechanisms for coping with temperature variations by the upregulation of genes involved in enzyme recovery, energy storage, carbon and nitrogen regulation, and cell motility. This first report on the active microbiome embedded in perennial ice from caves and its response to temperature stress provided a glimpse into the impact of glaciers melting and the resilience mechanisms in this habitat, contributing to the knowledge on the functional role of active microbes in frozen environments and their response to climatic changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Mondini
- Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biology, Bucharest, Romania
| | - Muhammad Zohaib Anwar
- Department of Environmental Science, Aarhus University, RISØ Campus, Roskilde, Denmark
- Center for Infectious Disease Genomics and One Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
| | - Lea Ellegaard-Jensen
- Department of Environmental Science, Aarhus University, RISØ Campus, Roskilde, Denmark
| | - Paris Lavin
- Centre of Biotechnology and Bioengineering (CeBiB), Universidad de Antofagasta, Antofagasta, Chile
- Departamento de Biotecnología, Facultad de Ciencias del Mar y Recursos Biológicos, Universidad de Antofagasta, Antofagasta, Chile
| | - Carsten Suhr Jacobsen
- Department of Environmental Science, Aarhus University, RISØ Campus, Roskilde, Denmark
| | - Cristina Purcarea
- Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biology, Bucharest, Romania
- *Correspondence: Cristina Purcarea,
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10
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Rizzo C, Lo Giudice A. Life from a Snowflake: Diversity and Adaptation of Cold-Loving Bacteria among Ice Crystals. Crystals 2022; 12:312. [DOI: 10.3390/cryst12030312] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Incredible as it is, researchers have now the awareness that even the most extreme environment includes special habitats that host several forms of life. Cold environments cover different compartments of the cryosphere, as sea and freshwater ice, glaciers, snow, and permafrost. Although these are very particular environmental compartments in which various stressors coexist (i.e., freeze–thaw cycles, scarce water availability, irradiance conditions, and poorness of nutrients), diverse specialized microbial communities are harbored. This raises many intriguing questions, many of which are still unresolved. For instance, a challenging focus is to understand if microorganisms survive trapped frozen among ice crystals for long periods of time or if they indeed remain metabolically active. Likewise, a look at their site-specific diversity and at their putative geochemical activity is demanded, as well as at the equally interesting microbial activity at subzero temperatures. The production of special molecules such as strategy of adaptations, cryoprotectants, and ice crystal-controlling molecules is even more intriguing. This paper aims at reviewing all these aspects with the intent of providing a thorough overview of the main contributors in investigating the microbial life in the cryosphere, touching on the themes of diversity, adaptation, and metabolic potential.
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11
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Kosznik-Kwaśnicka K, Golec P, Jaroszewicz W, Lubomska D, Piechowicz L. Into the Unknown: Microbial Communities in Caves, Their Role, and Potential Use. Microorganisms 2022; 10:222. [PMID: 35208677 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms10020222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2021] [Revised: 01/10/2022] [Accepted: 01/15/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Caves have been an item of amateur and professional exploration for many years. Research on the karst caves has revealed great diversity of bacteria, algae, and fungi living on stone walls and speleothems, in mud puddles or sediments. They have become the source of interest for various research groups including geologists, chemists, ecologists, or microbiologists. The adaptations of cave-dwelling organisms applied to their survival are complex and some of their properties show potential to be used in various areas of human life. Secondary metabolites produced by cave’s bacteria show strong antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, or anticancer properties. Furthermore, bacteria that can induce mineral precipitation could be used in the construction industry and for neutralization of radioisotopes. In this review we focus on bacteria and algae present in cave ecosystems, their role in shaping such specific environment, and their biotechnological and medical potential.
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12
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Gheorghita GR, Paun VI, Neagu S, Maria G, Enache M, Purcarea C, Parvulescu VI, Tudorache M. Cold-Active Lipase-Based Biocatalysts for Silymarin Valorization through Biocatalytic Acylation of Silybin. Catalysts 2021; 11:1390. [DOI: 10.3390/catal11111390] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Extremophilic biocatalysts represent an enhanced solution in various industrial applications. Integrating enzymes with high catalytic potential at low temperatures into production schemes such as cold-pressed silymarin processing not only brings value to the silymarin recovery from biomass residues, but also improves its solubility properties for biocatalytic modification. Therefore, a cold-active lipase-mediated biocatalytic system has been developed for silybin acylation with methyl fatty acid esters based on the extracellular protein fractions produced by the psychrophilic bacterial strain Psychrobacter SC65A.3 isolated from Scarisoara Ice Cave (Romania). The extracellular production of the lipase fraction was enhanced by 1% olive-oil-enriched culture media. Through multiple immobilization approaches of the cold-active putative lipases (using carbodiimide, aldehyde-hydrazine, or glutaraldehyde coupling), bio-composites (S1–5) with similar or even higher catalytic activity under cold-active conditions (25 °C) have been synthesized by covalent attachment to nano-/micro-sized magnetic or polymeric resin beads. Characterization methods (e.g., FTIR DRIFT, SEM, enzyme activity) strengthen the biocatalysts’ settlement and potential. Thus, the developed immobilized biocatalysts exhibited between 80 and 128% recovery of the catalytic activity for protein loading in the range 90–99% and this led to an immobilization yield up to 89%. The biocatalytic acylation performance reached a maximum of 67% silybin conversion with methyl decanoate acylating agent and nano-support immobilized lipase biocatalyst.
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13
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O'Connor BRW, Fernández-Martínez MÁ, Léveillé RJ, Whyte LG. Taxonomic Characterization and Microbial Activity Determination of Cold-Adapted Microbial Communities in Lava Tube Ice Caves from Lava Beds National Monument, a High-Fidelity Mars Analogue Environment. Astrobiology 2021; 21:613-627. [PMID: 33794669 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2020.2327] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Martian lava tube caves resulting from a time when the planet was still volcanically active are proposed to contain deposits of water ice, a feature that may increase microbial habitability. In this study, we taxonomically characterized and directly measured metabolic activity of the microbial communities that inhabit lava tube ice from Lava Beds National Monument, an analogue environment to martian lava tubes. We investigated whether this environment was habitable to microorganisms by determining their taxonomic diversity, metabolic activity, and viability using both culture-dependent and culture-independent techniques. With 16S rRNA gene sequencing, we recovered 27 distinct phyla from both ice and ice-rock interface samples, primarily consisting of Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, and Chloroflexi. Radiorespiration and Biolog EcoPlate assays found these microbial communities to be metabolically active at both 5°C and -5°C and able to metabolize diverse sets of heterotrophic carbon substrates at each temperature. Viable cells were predominantly cold adapted and capable of growth at 5°C (1.3 × 104 to 2.9 × 107 cells/mL), and 24 of 38 cultured isolates were capable of growth at -5°C. Furthermore, 14 of these cultured isolates, and 16 of the 20 most numerous amplicon sequences we recovered were most closely related to isolates and sequences obtained from other cryophilic environments. Given these results, lava tube ice appears to be a habitable environment, and considering the protections martian lava tubes offer to microbial communities from harsh surface conditions, similar martian caves containing ice may be capable of supporting extant, active microbial communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brady R W O'Connor
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill Space Institute, McGill University, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec, Canada
| | | | - Richard J Léveillé
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, McGill Space Institute, McGill University, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec, Canada
| | - Lyle G Whyte
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill Space Institute, McGill University, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec, Canada
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14
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Mulec J, Oarga-Mulec A, Holko L, Pašić L, Kopitar AN, Eleršek T, Mihevc A. Microbiota entrapped in recently-formed ice: Paradana Ice Cave, Slovenia. Sci Rep 2021; 11:1993. [PMID: 33479448 PMCID: PMC7820503 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-81528-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2020] [Accepted: 12/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Paradana is one of the biggest ice caves in Slovenia, with an estimated ice volume of 8,000 m3. Reflecting climatological conditions, the cave ice undergoes repeated freeze-thaw cycles and regular yearly deposition of fresh ice. Three distinct ice block samples, collected from the frozen lake in May 2016, were analysed to obtain data on ice physicochemical properties and the composition of associated microbiota. Isotopic composition of the ice samples (18O, 2H) and a local meteoric water line (LMWL) constructed for monthly precipitation at Postojna were used to estimate the isotopic composition of the water that formed the ice, which had high values of deuterium excess and low concentrations of chloride, sulphate and nitrate. The values of total organic carbon (1.93–3.95 mg/l) within the ice blocks fall within the range of those measured in karst streams. Total cell count in the ice was high and the proportion of cell viability increased along the depth gradient and ranged from 4.67 × 104 to 1.52 × 105 cells/ml and from 51.0 to 85.4%, respectively. Proteobacteria represented the core of the cave-ice microbiome (55.9–79.1%), and probably play an essential role in this ecosystem. Actinobacteria was the second most abundant phylum (12.0–31.4%), followed in abundance by Bacteroidetes (2.8–4.3%). Ice phylotypes recorded amounted to 442 genera, but only 43 genera had abundances greater than 0.5%. Most abundant were Pseudomonas, a well-known ice dweller, and Lysobacter, which previously was not reported in this context. Finally, two xanthophytes, Chloridella glacialis and Ellipsoidion perminimum, known from polar environments, were cultured from the ice. This indicates that the abundance and ecological role of phototrophs in such environments might be greater than previously deduced.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janez Mulec
- Karst Research Institute, Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Titov trg 2, 6230, Postojna, Slovenia. .,UNESCO Chair on Karst Education, University of Nova Gorica, Glavni trg 8, 5271, Vipava, Slovenia.
| | - Andreea Oarga-Mulec
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of Nova Gorica, Glavni trg 8, 5271, Vipava, Slovenia
| | - Ladislav Holko
- Institute of Hydrology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, 84104, Bratislava, Slovak Republic
| | - Lejla Pašić
- School of Medicine, University Sarajevo School of Science and Technology, Hrasnička cesta 3a, 71000, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
| | - Andreja Nataša Kopitar
- Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Ljubljana, Zaloška 4, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Tina Eleršek
- Department of Genetic Toxicology and Cancer Biology, National Institute of Biology, Večna pot 111, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Andrej Mihevc
- Karst Research Institute, Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Titov trg 2, 6230, Postojna, Slovenia.,UNESCO Chair on Karst Education, University of Nova Gorica, Glavni trg 8, 5271, Vipava, Slovenia
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15
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Paun VI, Lavin P, Chifiriuc MC, Purcarea C. First report on antibiotic resistance and antimicrobial activity of bacterial isolates from 13,000-year old cave ice core. Sci Rep 2021; 11:514. [PMID: 33436712 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-79754-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2020] [Accepted: 12/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite the unique physiology and metabolic pathways of microbiomes from cold environments providing key evolutionary insights and promising leads for discovering new bioactive compounds, cultivable bacteria entrapped in perennial ice from caves remained a largely unexplored life system. In this context, we obtained and characterized bacterial strains from 13,000-years old ice core of Scarisoara Ice Cave, providing first isolates from perennial ice accumulated in caves since Late Glacial, and first culture-based evidences of bacterial resistome and antimicrobial compounds production. The 68 bacterial isolates belonged to 4 phyla, 34 genera and 56 species, with 17 strains representing putative new taxa. The Gram-negative cave bacteria (Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes) were more resistant to the great majority of antibiotic classes than the Gram-positive ones (Actinobacteria, Firmicutes). More than 50% of the strains exhibited high resistance to 17 classes of antibiotics. Some of the isolates inhibited the growth of clinically important Gram-positive and Gram-negative resistant strains and revealed metabolic features with applicative potential. The current report on bacterial strains from millennia-old cave ice revealed promising candidates for studying the evolution of environmental resistome and for obtaining new active biomolecules for fighting the antibiotics crisis, and valuable cold-active biocatalysts.
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Alcamán-Arias ME, Fuentes-Alburquenque S, Vergara-Barros P, Cifuentes-Anticevic J, Verdugo J, Polz M, Farías L, Pedrós-Alió C, Díez B. Coastal Bacterial Community Response to Glacier Melting in the Western Antarctic Peninsula. Microorganisms 2021; 9:microorganisms9010088. [PMID: 33401391 PMCID: PMC7823458 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms9010088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2020] [Revised: 12/20/2020] [Accepted: 12/21/2020] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Current warming in the Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) has multiple effects on the marine ecosystem, modifying the trophic web and the nutrient regime. In this study, the effect of decreased surface salinity on the marine microbial community as a consequence of freshening from nearby glaciers was investigated in Chile Bay, Greenwich Island, WAP. In the summer of 2016, samples were collected from glacier ice and transects along the bay for 16S rRNA gene sequencing, while in situ dilution experiments were conducted and analyzed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing and metatranscriptomic analysis. The results reveal that certain common seawater genera, such as Polaribacter, Pseudoalteromonas and HTCC2207, responded positively to decreased salinity in both the bay transect and experiments. The relative abundance of these bacteria slightly decreased, but their functional activity was maintained and increased the over time in the dilution experiments. However, while ice bacteria, such as Flavobacterium and Polaromonas, tolerated the increased salinity after mixing with seawater, their gene expression decreased considerably. We suggest that these bacterial taxa could be defined as sentinels of freshening events in the Antarctic coastal system. Furthermore, these results suggest that a significant portion of the microbial community is resilient and can adapt to disturbances, such as freshening due to the warming effect of climate change in Antarctica.
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Affiliation(s)
- María Estrella Alcamán-Arias
- Department of Oceanography, Universidad de Concepcion, Concepcion 4030000, Chile; (M.E.A.-A.); (L.F.)
- Center for Climate and Resilience Research (CR)2, Santiago 8320000, Chile
- Escuela de Medicina, Universidad Espíritu Santo, Guayaquil 0901952, Ecuador
| | - Sebastián Fuentes-Alburquenque
- Centro de Investigación en Recursos Naturales y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Bernardo O’Higgins, Santiago 8370993, Chile;
- Facultad de Ingeniería, Ciencia y Tecnología, Universidad Bernardo O’Higgins, Santiago 8370993, Chile
| | - Pablo Vergara-Barros
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago 8331150, Chile; (P.V.-B.); (J.C.-A.)
| | - Jerónimo Cifuentes-Anticevic
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago 8331150, Chile; (P.V.-B.); (J.C.-A.)
| | - Josefa Verdugo
- Alfred-Wegener-Institute, Helmholtz-Centre for Polar and Marine Research, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany;
| | - Martin Polz
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA;
| | - Laura Farías
- Department of Oceanography, Universidad de Concepcion, Concepcion 4030000, Chile; (M.E.A.-A.); (L.F.)
- Center for Climate and Resilience Research (CR)2, Santiago 8320000, Chile
| | - Carlos Pedrós-Alió
- Departamento de Biología de Sistemas, Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (CSIC), Darwin 3, 28049 Madrid, Spain;
| | - Beatriz Díez
- Center for Climate and Resilience Research (CR)2, Santiago 8320000, Chile
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago 8331150, Chile; (P.V.-B.); (J.C.-A.)
- Correspondence:
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