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Title: The Dark Side of the Mushroom Spring Microbial Mat: Life in the Shadow of Chlorophototrophs. I. Microbial Diversity Based on 16S rRNA Gene Amplicons and Metagenomic Sequencing

Journal Article · · Frontiers in Microbiology
 [1];  [2];  [2];  [1];  [3];  [2];  [4]
  1. Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States). Dept. of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
  2. Montana State Univ., Bozeman, MT (United States). Dept. of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences
  3. Montana State Univ., Bozeman, MT (United States). Dept. of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences; Univ. of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN (United States). Agricultural Research Service, United States Dept. of Agriculture
  4. Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States). Dept. of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Montana State Univ., Bozeman, MT (United States). Dept. of Chemistry and Biochemistry
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Microbial-mat communities in the effluent channels of Octopus and Mushroom Springs within the Lower Geyser Basin at Yellowstone National Park have been studied for nearly 50 years. The emphasis has mostly focused on the chlorophototrophic bacterial organisms of the phyla Cyanobacteria and Chloroflexi. In contrast, the diversity and metabolic functions of the heterotrophic community in the microoxic/anoxic region of the mat are not well understood. In this study we analyzed the orange-colored undermat of the microbial community of Mushroom Spring using metagenomic and rRNA-amplicon (iTag) analyses. Our analyses disclosed a highly diverse community exhibiting a high degree of unevenness, strongly dominated by a single taxon, the filamentous anoxygenic phototroph, Roseiflexus spp. The second most abundant organisms belonged to the Thermotogae, which have been hypothesized to be a major source of H-2 from fermentation that could enable photomixotrophic metabolism by Chloroflexus and Roseiflexus spp. Other abundant organisms include two members of the Armatimonadetes (OP10); Thermocrinis sp.; and phototrophic and heterotrophic members of the Chloroflexi. Further, an Atribacteria (OP9/JS1) member; a sulfate-reducing Therrnodesulfovibrio sp.; a Planctomycetes member; a member of the EM3 group tentatively affiliated with the Thermotogae, as well as a putative member of the Arrninicenantes (OP8) represented ≥ 1% of the reads. Archaea were not abundant in the iTag analysis, and no metagenomic bin representing an archaeon was identified. A high microdiversity of 16S rRNA gene sequences was identified for the dominant taxon, Roseiflexus spp. Previous studies demonstrated that highly similar Synechococcus variants in the upper layer of the mats represent ecological species populations with specific ecological adaptations. In conclusion, this study suggests that similar putative ecotypes specifically adapted to different niches occur within the undermat community, particularly for Roseiflexus spp.

Research Organization:
Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
Grant/Contract Number:
FG02-94ER20137; AC02-05CH11231
OSTI ID:
1286006
Journal Information:
Frontiers in Microbiology, Vol. 7; ISSN 1664-302X
Publisher:
Frontiers Research FoundationCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 42 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (30)

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Disentangling the drivers of functional complexity at the metagenomic level in Shark Bay microbial mat microbiomes journal July 2018
Functional shifts in microbial mats recapitulate early Earth metabolic transitions journal October 2018
Life in Hot Spring Microbial Mats Located in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt: A 16S/18S rRNA Gene and Metagenomic Analysis journal April 2018
How nature designs light-harvesting antenna systems: design principles and functional realization in chlorophototrophic prokaryotes journal January 2018
A metagenomic window into the 2-km-deep terrestrial subsurface aquifer revealed multiple pathways of organic matter decomposition journal August 2018
Effect of light wavelength on hot spring microbial mat biodiversity journal January 2018
Effects of Physiochemical Factors on Prokaryotic Biodiversity in Malaysian Circumneutral Hot Springs journal July 2017
Evolution of Phototrophy in the Chloroflexi Phylum Driven by Horizontal Gene Transfer journal February 2018
Comparative Analysis of Microbial Diversity Across Temperature Gradients in Hot Springs From Yellowstone and Iceland journal July 2020
Exemplar Abstract for Chloranaerofilum corporosum Thiel et al. 2016. dataset January 2019
Exemplar Abstract for Roseilinea gracile (sic) Thiel et al. 2016 and Roseilinea gracilis corrig. Thiel et al. 2016. dataset January 2019
Exemplar Abstract for Roseovibrio tepidum (sic) Thiel et al. 2016 and Roseivibrio tepidus corrig. Thiel et al. 2016. dataset January 2019
Exemplar Abstract for Elioraea thermophila Thiel et al. 2016. dataset January 2019
Nomenclature Abstract for Chloroploca asiatica Gorlenko et al. 2014. dataset January 2016
Nomenclature Abstract for Incertae sedis 368 Thiel et al. 2016. dataset January 2018
Nomenclature Abstract for Incertae sedis 370 Thiel et al. 2016. dataset January 2018
Nomenclature Abstract for Chloranaerofilum Thiel et al. 2016. dataset January 2019
Nomenclature Abstract for Chloranaerofilum corporosum Thiel et al. 2016. dataset January 2019
Nomenclature Abstract for Roseilinea Thiel et al. 2016. dataset January 2019
Nomenclature Abstract for Roseilinea gracile (sic) Thiel et al. 2016. dataset January 2019
Nomenclature Abstract for Roseovibrio (sic) Thiel et al. 2016. dataset January 2019
Nomenclature Abstract for Roseovibrio tepidum (sic) Thiel et al. 2016. dataset January 2019
Nomenclature Abstract for Elioraea thermophila Thiel et al. 2016. dataset January 2019
Nomenclature Abstract for Incertae sedis 544 Thiel et al. 2016. dataset January 2019
Nomenclature Abstract for Roseivibrio corrig. Thiel et al. 2016. dataset January 2019
Nomenclature Abstract for Roseivibrio tepidus corrig. Thiel et al. 2016. dataset January 2019
Taxon Abstract for the genus Elioraea Albuquerque et al. 2008 emend. Habib et al. 2020 dataset January 2013
The Dark Side of the Mushroom Spring Microbial Mat: Life in the Shadow of Chlorophototrophs. II. Metabolic Functions of Abundant Community Members Predicted from Metagenomic Analyses journal June 2017
Taxonomic Abstract for the orders. dataset January 2018

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Related Subjects

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
hot spring
microbial community
microbial diversity
extreme environments
phototrophic bacteria
yellowstone-national-park
candidatus chloracidobacterium thermophilum
gradient gel-electrophoresis
operational taxonomic units
algal-bacterial mats
alkaline hot-springs
cyanobacterial mat
sp-nov.
synechococcus populations
molecular signatures