Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Catabolism and interactions of uncultured organisms shaped by eco-thermodynamics in methanogenic bioprocesses

Journal Article · · Microbiome
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [6];  [7];  [3]
  1. Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States); National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukuba (Japan); University of Oklahoma
  2. Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States); National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukuba (Japan)
  3. Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States)
  4. National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukuba (Japan)
  5. City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon (Hong Kong)
  6. Imperial College, London (United Kingdom)
  7. Univ. of Oklahoma, Norman, OK (United States)
We currently understand the carbon cycle in methanogenic environments as trophic interactions revolving around interspecies H2 transfer between organotrophs and methanogens. However, many H2-generating processes are thermodynamically sensitive to H2 accumulation and can be inhibited by high H2 concentrations produced by other metabolisms. To uncover how anaerobes combat this H2 conflict in situ, we employ metagenomics and metatranscriptomics to revisit a model ecosystem that has inspired many foundational discoveries in anaerobic ecology – methanogenic bioreactors. Through analysis of 15 anaerobic digesters, we recover 1343 high-quality metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) and corresponding gene expression profiles for diverse uncultured lineages spanning 66 phyla and reconstruct their individual metabolic capacities. We discover that diverse uncultured organotrophic populations can drive H2-sensitive degradation through (i) metabolic coupling with concurrent H2-tolerant catabolism, (ii) unprecedented shifts from H2 generation to CO2-reducing formate transfer and cytochrome/pili-mediated direct interspecies electron transfer for avoiding thermodynamic conflict, and (iii) integration of low-concentration O2 as an ancillary thermodynamics-enhancing electron sink. Archaeal populations in situ support the above processes through novel metabolisms distinct from conventional methanogenesis – high-affinity H2 oxidation driven by methyl-reducing methanogenesis and concomitant uptake of formate, electrons, and acetate from HS metabolism by Methanothrix. In total, synthesis of omics analyses and eco-thermodynamics reveals overlooked metabolic behavior and interactions of uncultured organisms that address a central issue in methanogenic carbon cycling, thermodynamic conflict among diverse concurrent metabolic processes.
Research Organization:
Univ. of Oklahoma, Norman, OK (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Chemical Sciences, Geosciences & Biosciences Division
Grant/Contract Number:
FG02-96ER20214
OSTI ID:
1644640
Journal Information:
Microbiome, Journal Name: Microbiome Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 8; ISSN 2049-2618
Publisher:
BioMed CentralCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (78)

Dissolved hydrogen concentration as an on-line control parameter for the automated operation and optimization of anaerobic digesters journal December 1997
ggplot2 book January 2009
Syntrophism Among Prokaryotes book January 2013
Volatile fatty acids as indicators of process imbalance in anaerobic digestors journal July 1995
Methanobacillus omelianskii, a symbiotic association of two species of bacteria journal January 1967
Methanothrix soehngenii gen. nov. sp. nov., a new acetotrophic non-hydrogen-oxidizing methane bacterium journal July 1982
Evidence of reversed electron transport in syntrophic butyrate or benzoate oxidation by Syntrophomonas wolfei and Syntrophus buswellii journal July 1994
Anaerobic bacterium that degrades fatty acids in syntrophic association with methanogens journal August 1979
Measurement of trace concentrations of hydrogen in biogas from anaerobic digesters using an exhaled hydrogen monitor journal December 1987
Energy conservation via electron bifurcating ferredoxin reduction and proton/Na+ translocating ferredoxin oxidation journal February 2013
Syntrophy in anaerobic global carbon cycles journal December 2009
Investigation into the effect of high concentrations of volatile fatty acids in anaerobic digestion on methanogenic communities journal November 2014
Interspecies electron transfer in methanogenic propionate degrading consortia journal March 2004
Operation-driven heterogeneity and overlooked feed-associated populations in global anaerobic digester microbiome journal November 2017
Intermittent micro-aeration: New strategy to control volatile fatty acid accumulation in high organic loading anaerobic digestion journal December 2019
Competition for Hydrogen within a Chlorinated Solvent Dehalogenating Anaerobic Mixed Culture journal November 1998
Hydrogenases and formate dehydrogenases of Syntrophobacter fumaroxidans journal December 2002
Microbial dark matter ecogenomics reveals complex synergistic networks in a methanogenic bioreactor journal January 2015
Chasing the elusive Euryarchaeota class WSA2: genomes reveal a uniquely fastidious methyl-reducing methanogen journal March 2016
Electrically conductive pili from pilin genes of phylogenetically diverse microorganisms journal September 2017
The strict anaerobe Bacteroides fragilis grows in and benefits from nanomolar concentrations of oxygen journal January 2004
A standardized bacterial taxonomy based on genome phylogeny substantially revises the tree of life journal August 2018
SignalP 4.0: discriminating signal peptides from transmembrane regions journal September 2011
A complete domain-to-species taxonomy for Bacteria and Archaea journal April 2020
Accurate binning of metagenomic contigs via automated clustering sequences using information of genomic signatures and marker genes journal April 2016
Evaluating digestion efficiency in full-scale anaerobic digesters by identifying active microbial populations through the lens of microbial activity journal September 2016
HydDB: A web tool for hydrogenase classification and analysis journal September 2016
A new model for electron flow during anaerobic digestion: direct interspecies electron transfer to Methanosaeta for the reduction of carbon dioxide to methane journal January 2014
Diving into the redox properties of Geobacter sulfurreducens cytochromes: a model for extracellular electron transfer journal January 2015
Genomic insights that advance the species definition for prokaryotes journal February 2005
Aerobic growth at nanomolar oxygen concentrations journal October 2010
CD-HIT: accelerated for clustering the next-generation sequencing data journal October 2012
Prokka: rapid prokaryotic genome annotation journal March 2014
MaxBin 2.0: an automated binning algorithm to recover genomes from multiple metagenomic datasets journal October 2015
Binning_refiner: improving genome bins through the combination of different binning programs journal February 2017
The Lipase Engineering Database: a navigation and analysis tool for protein families journal January 2003
CD-Search: protein domain annotations on the fly journal July 2004
dbCAN: a web resource for automated carbohydrate-active enzyme annotation journal May 2012
CDD: NCBI's conserved domain database journal November 2014
Twenty years of the MEROPS database of proteolytic enzymes, their substrates and inhibitors journal November 2015
Description of a New Strain of Methanothrix soehngenii and Rejection of Methanothrix concilii as a Synonym of Methanothrix soehngenii journal January 1988
Characterization of Three Thermophilic Strains of Methanothrix ("Methanosaeta") thermophila sp. nov. and Rejection of Methanothrix ("Methanosaeta") thermoacetophila journal July 1992
CheckM: assessing the quality of microbial genomes recovered from isolates, single cells, and metagenomes journal May 2015
metaSPAdes: a new versatile metagenomic assembler journal March 2017
The genome of S yntrophorhabdus aromaticivorans strain UI provides new insights for syntrophic aromatic compound metabolism and electron flow journal March 2014
The nexus of syntrophy-associated microbiota in anaerobic digestion revealed by long-term enrichment and community survey: Microbial community of syntrophic enrichment cultures journal October 2014
The FlxABCD-HdrABC proteins correspond to a novel NADH dehydrogenase/heterodisulfide reductase widespread in anaerobic bacteria and involved in ethanol metabolism in D esulfovibrio vulgaris  Hildenborough : Role of FlxABCD-HdrABC in journal January 2015
Thermodynamically diverse syntrophic aromatic compound catabolism: Thermodynamically diverse syntrophic catabolism journal October 2017
Novel energy conservation strategies and behaviour of Pelotomaculum schinkii driving syntrophic propionate catabolism journal October 2018
Fermentation of isoleucine and arginine by pure and syntrophic cultures of Clostridium sporogenes journal December 1986
Thermodynamics of hydrogen metabolism in methanogenic cocultures degrading ethanol or lactate journal October 1988
Flagellum Mediates Symbiosis journal March 2009
Energetics of syntrophic cooperation in methanogenic degradation. journal January 1997
A Model of Extracellular Enzymes in Free-Living Microbes: Which Strategy Pays Off? journal August 2015
Syntrophorhabdus aromaticivorans gen. nov., sp. nov., the First Cultured Anaerobe Capable of Degrading Phenol to Acetate in Obligate Syntrophic Associations with a Hydrogenotrophic Methanogen journal February 2008
Diffusion of the Interspecies Electron Carriers H2 and Formate in Methanogenic Ecosystems and Its Implications in the Measurement of Km for H2 or Formate Uptake journal January 1989
Inhibition of the Fermentation of Propionate to Methane by Hydrogen, Acetate, and Propionate journal January 1990
Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization Using 16S rRNA-Targeted Oligonucleotides Reveals Localization of Methanogens and Selected Uncultured Bacteria in Mesophilic and Thermophilic Sludge Granules journal March 1999
Characteristics of S Organism Isolated from Methanobacillus omelianskii1 journal January 1972
Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicus sp. n., an Anaerobic, Autotrophic, Extreme Thermophile journal January 1972
Energy conservation in chemotrophic anaerobic bacteria. journal January 1977
Metagenomics: Application of Genomics to Uncultured Microorganisms journal December 2004
Characteristics of S Organism Isolated from Methanobacillus omelianskii1 journal January 1972
Experiments on the Methane Bacteria in Sludge journal August 1954
Characterization and nutritional properties of Methanothrix concilii sp. nov., a mesophilic, aceticlastic methanogen journal November 1984
Genomic Insights into Syntrophy: The Paradigm for Anaerobic Metabolic Cooperation journal October 2012
Mash: fast genome and metagenome distance estimation using MinHash journal June 2016
Physiology, Ecology, Phylogeny, and Genomics of Microorganisms Capable of Syntrophic Metabolism journal March 2008
Comparative Genomics of Syntrophic Branched-Chain Fatty Acid Degrading Bacteria journal January 2016
A Proteomic View at the Biochemistry of Syntrophic Butyrate Oxidation in Syntrophomonas wolfei journal February 2013
Anaerobe Tolerance to Oxygen and the Potentials of Anaerobic and Aerobic Cocultures for Wastewater Treatment journal December 1997
FactoMineR : An R Package for Multivariate Analysis journal January 2008
Oxygen Effects in Anaerobic Digestion – A Review journal April 2011
R: A Language for Data Analysis and Graphics journal September 1996
Proteomic analysis reveals metabolic and regulatory systems involved in the syntrophic and axenic lifestyle of Syntrophomonas wolfei journal February 2015
Oxygen Effects in Anaerobic Digestion journal January 2009
Mash: fast genome and metagenome distance estimation using MinHash collection January 2016
MetaBAT, an efficient tool for accurately reconstructing single genomes from complex microbial communities journal January 2015


Similar Records

Syntrophus conductive pili demonstrate that common hydrogen-donating syntrophs can have a direct electron transfer option
Journal Article · Wed Jan 01 19:00:00 EST 2020 · The ISME Journal · OSTI ID:1604770

Methanogens: Syntrophic Metabolism [Reference Work Chapter]
Other · Wed Mar 14 00:00:00 EDT 2018 · OSTI ID:1604970

Methanogens: Syntrophic Metabolism
Other · Wed Mar 14 00:00:00 EDT 2018 · OSTI ID:1774023