DOE PAGES title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Lipid analysis of CO2-rich subsurface aquifers suggests an autotrophy-based deep biosphere with lysolipids enriched in CPR bacteria

Journal Article · · The ISME Journal
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [2];  [3];  [4]; ORCiD logo [4]; ORCiD logo [5];  [6];  [7];  [8];  [9]; ORCiD logo [10];  [4]; ORCiD logo [7]
  1. Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Univ. of Duisburg-Essen (Germany)
  2. Univ. of Bremen (Germany); Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA (United States)
  3. Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Univ. of Bremen (Germany)
  4. Univ. of Bremen (Germany)
  5. Elettra-Sincrotrone Treiste (Italy); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
  6. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
  7. Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)
  8. Univ. of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC (Canada); Univ. of Calgary, AB (Canada)
  9. Univ. of Calgary, AB (Canada)
  10. USDOE Joint Genome Institute (JGI), Walnut Creek, CA (United States)

Sediment-hosted CO2-rich aquifers deep below the Colorado Plateau (USA) contain a remarkable diversity of uncultivated microorganisms, including Candidate Phyla Radiation (CPR) bacteria that are putative symbionts unable to synthesize membrane lipids. The origin of organic carbon in these ecosystems is unknown and the source of CPR membrane lipids remains elusive. We collected cells from deep groundwater brought to the surface by eruptions of Crystal Geyser, sequenced the community, and analyzed the whole community lipidome over time. Characteristic stable carbon isotopic compositions of microbial lipids suggest that bacterial and archaeal CO2 fixation ongoing in the deep subsurface provides organic carbon for the complex communities that reside there. Coupled lipidomic-metagenomic analysis indicates that CPR bacteria lack complete lipid biosynthesis pathways but still possess regular lipid membranes. These lipids may therefore originate from other community members, which also adapt to high in situ pressure by increasing fatty acid unsaturation. An unusually high abundance of lysolipids attributed to CPR bacteria may represent an adaptation to membrane curvature stress induced by their small cell sizes. Our findings provide new insights into the carbon cycle in the deep subsurface and suggest the redistribution of lipids into putative symbionts within this community.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC); Sloan Foundation; German Research Foundation (DFG); Canadian National Science and Engineering Research Council
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231; G-2016-20166041; DFG PR 1603/1-1; 06509-2016
OSTI ID:
1634086
Journal Information:
The ISME Journal, Vol. 14, Issue 6; ISSN 1751-7362
Publisher:
Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 16 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (81)

Unusual metabolic diversity of hyperalkaliphilic microbial communities associated with subterranean serpentinization at The Cedars journal July 2017
A microbial consortium couples anaerobic methane oxidation to denitrification journal April 2006
Quorum sensing triggers the stochastic escape of individual cells from Pseudomonas putida biofilms text January 2015
An archaeal symbiont-host association from the deep terrestrial subsurface journal May 2019
Tackling the minority: sulfate-reducing bacteria in an archaea-dominated subsurface biofilm journal November 2012
Distribution of intact and core GDGTs in marine sediments journal May 2011
Cardiolipin and the osmotic stress responses of bacteria journal October 2009
Fermentation, Hydrogen, and Sulfur Metabolism in Multiple Uncultivated Bacterial Phyla journal September 2012
Genomics-informed isolation and characterization of a symbiotic Nanoarchaeota system from a terrestrial geothermal environment journal July 2016
Significant contribution of Archaea to extant biomass in marine subsurface sediments journal July 2008
Stable carbon isotopic compositions of intact polar lipids reveal complex carbon flow patterns among hydrocarbon degrading microbial communities at the Chapopote asphalt volcano journal August 2011
Adaptation of the membrane lipids of a deep-sea bacterium to changes in hydrostatic pressure journal May 1985
The genome of Nanoarchaeum equitans: Insights into early archaeal evolution and derived parasitism journal October 2003
Prodigal: prokaryotic gene recognition and translation initiation site identification journal March 2010
Sedimentary membrane lipids recycled by deep-sea benthic archaea journal November 2010
Coupling Genetic and Chemical Microbiome Profiling Reveals Heterogeneity of Archaeome and Bacteriome in Subsurface Biofilms That Are Dominated by the Same Archaeal Species journal June 2014
Fingerprints of Fluid Flow: Chemical Diagenetic History of the Jurassic Navajo Sandstone, Southern Utah, U.S.A. journal July 2005
KEGG: Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes journal January 1999
Carbon isotope fractionation between dissolved bicarbonate and gaseous carbon dioxide journal May 1974
Distribution of betaine lipids in marine algae journal July 1996
An ACP-Independent Fatty Acid Synthesis Pathway in Archaea: Implications for the Origin of Phospholipids journal July 2012
Metagenomic identification of active methanogens and methanotrophs in serpentinite springs of the Voltri Massif, Italy journal January 2017
Metagenomic analysis of a high carbon dioxide subsurface microbial community populated by chemolithoautotrophs and bacteria and archaea from candidate phyla: High CO journal April 2015
Bacterial Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids: Their Biosynthetic Genes, Functions, and Practical Use journal May 2016
An oligotrophic deep-subsurface community dependent on syntrophy is dominated by sulfur-driven autotrophic denitrifiers text January 2016
Differences in Carbon Isotope Discrimination of Three Variants of D-Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate Carboxylase/Oxygenase Reflect Differences in Their Catalytic Mechanisms journal October 2007
Uptake and acylation of 2-acyl-lysophospholipids by Escherichia coli. journal January 1989
Unusual biology across a group comprising more than 15% of domain Bacteria journal June 2015
Exotic biomodification of fatty acids journal January 2007
A laboratory experiment of intact polar lipid degradation in sandy sediments journal January 2011
A new view of the tree of life journal April 2016
Biosignatures link microorganisms to iron mineralization in a paleoaquifer journal August 2012
Genome-reconstruction for eukaryotes from complex natural microbial communities journal March 2018
MUSCLE: multiple sequence alignment with high accuracy and high throughput journal March 2004
Potential recycling of thaumarchaeotal lipids by DPANN Archaea in seasonally hypoxic surface marine sediments journal May 2018
Application of two new LC–ESI–MS methods for improved detection of intact polar lipids (IPLs) in environmental samples journal June 2013
Metagenomic identification of active methanogens and methanotrophs in serpentinite springs of the Voltri Massif, Italy text January 2017
Environmental Genomics Reveals a Single-Species Ecosystem Deep Within Earth journal October 2008
Accurate, multi-kb reads resolve complex populations and detect rare microorganisms journal February 2015
Quorum sensing triggers the stochastic escape of individual cells from Pseudomonas putida biofilms journal January 2015
UniRef: comprehensive and non-redundant UniProt reference clusters journal March 2007
Molecular and isotopic analysis of anaerobic methane-oxidizing communities in marine sediments journal December 2000
A metagenomic window into carbon metabolism at 3 km depth in Precambrian continental crust journal September 2015
Genomic resolution of a cold subsurface aquifer community provides metabolic insights for novel microbes adapted to high CO 2 concentrations : Genomic resolution of a high-CO journal July 2016
Carbon isotopic fractionation in heterotrophic microbial metabolism. journal January 1985
Coupling Genetic and Chemical Microbiome Profiling Reveals Heterogeneity of Archaeome and Bacteriome in Subsurface Biofilms That Are Dominated by the Same Archaeal Species text January 2014
Potential for microbial H2 and metal transformations associated with novel bacteria and archaea in deep terrestrial subsurface sediments journal March 2017
Ecology and evolution of seafloor and subseafloor microbial communities journal July 2018
Composition of the lipids of Nanoarchaeum equitans and their origin from its host Ignicoccus sp. strain KIN4/I journal September 2004
The biomass and biodiversity of the continental subsurface journal September 2018
Carbon Isotope Fractionation by Autotrophic Bacteria with Three Different C02 Fixation Pathways journal June 1989
Differential depth distribution of microbial function and putative symbionts through sediment-hosted aquifers in the deep terrestrial subsurface journal January 2018
Autotrophic carbon fixation in archaea journal May 2010
Abundant transposases encoded by the metagenome of a hydrothermal chimney biofilm journal July 2009
Characteristic presence of polyunsaturated fatty acids in marine psychrophilic vibrios journal June 1995
Biology of a widespread uncultivated archaeon that contributes to carbon fixation in the subsurface journal November 2014
IDBA-UD: a de novo assembler for single-cell and metagenomic sequencing data with highly uneven depth journal April 2012
Cardiolipin microdomains localize to negatively curved regions of Escherichia coli membranes journal March 2011
Isotope Fractionation during Primary Production book January 1993
Turnover of microbial lipids in the deep biosphere and growth of benthic archaeal populations journal March 2013
Cultivation of a human-associated TM7 phylotype reveals a reduced genome and epibiotic parasitic lifestyle journal December 2014
Characteristics of CO 2 -driven cold-water geyser, Crystal Geyser in Utah: experimental observation and mechanism analyses journal February 2013
Energy and carbon metabolisms in a deep terrestrial subsurface fluid microbial community journal June 2017
Chemolithotrophy in the continental deep subsurface: Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF), USA journal November 2014
Fast gapped-read alignment with Bowtie 2 journal March 2012
Major New Microbial Groups Expand Diversity and Alter our Understanding of the Tree of Life journal March 2018
Ror2 signaling regulates Golgi structure and transport through IFT20 for tumor invasiveness journal January 2017
Analysis of phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA) to characterize microbial communities in aquifers journal March 2000
A marine microbial consortium apparently mediating anaerobic oxidation of methane journal October 2000
Production of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids by Polyketide Synthases in Both Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes journal July 2001
Diverse uncultivated ultra-small bacterial cells in groundwater journal February 2015
Intact polar membrane lipids in prokaryotes and sediments deciphered by high-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization multistage mass spectrometry—new biomarkers for biogeochemistry and microbial ecology journal January 2004
Small genome symbiont underlies cuticle hardness in beetles journal September 2017
Isotope discrimination by photosynthetic bacteria journal March 1977
An oligotrophic deep-subsurface community dependent on syntrophy is dominated by sulfur-driven autotrophic denitrifiers journal November 2016
The Influence of Lysolipids on the Spontaneous Curvature and Bending Elasticity of Phospholipid Membranes journal July 2001
Thousands of microbial genomes shed light on interconnected biogeochemical processes in an aquifer system journal October 2016
Targeted metabolomics reveals proline as a major osmolyte in the chemolithoautotroph Sulfurimonas denitrificans journal February 2018
Genome-Resolved Metagenomic Analysis Reveals Roles for Candidate Phyla and Other Microbial Community Members in Biogeochemical Transformations in Oil Reservoirs journal January 2016
Spatial and temporal variability of biomarkers and microbial diversity reveal metabolic and community flexibility in Streamer Biofilm Communities in the Lower Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park journal August 2013
Targeting Bacterial Cardiolipin Enriched Microdomains: An Antimicrobial Strategy Used by Amphiphilic Aminoglycoside Antibiotics journal September 2017

Cited By (40)

Concentrations, fractional abundance, and characteristics of intact polar lipids in lipid extracts obtained by filtering eruption fluids from Crystal Geyser, sample CG13 dataset January 2020
Concentrations, fractional abundance, and characteristics of intact polar lipids in lipid extracts obtained by filtering eruption fluids from Crystal Geyser, sample CG15 dataset January 2020
Concentrations, fractional abundance, and characteristics of intact polar lipids in lipid extracts obtained by filtering eruption fluids from Crystal Geyser, sample CG09 dataset January 2020
Concentrations, fractional abundance, and characteristics of intact polar lipids in lipid extracts obtained by filtering eruption fluids from Crystal Geyser, sample CG11 dataset January 2020
Concentrations, fractional abundance, and characteristics of intact polar lipids in lipid extracts obtained by filtering eruption fluids from Crystal Geyser, sample CG17 dataset January 2020
Concentrations, fractional abundance, and characteristics of intact polar lipids in lipid extracts obtained by filtering eruption fluids from Crystal Geyser, sample CG19 dataset January 2020
Concentrations, fractional abundance, and characteristics of intact polar lipids in lipid extracts obtained by filtering eruption fluids from Crystal Geyser, sample CG05 dataset January 2020
Concentrations, fractional abundance, and characteristics of intact polar lipids in lipid extracts obtained by filtering eruption fluids from Crystal Geyser, sample CG07 dataset January 2020
Concentrations, fractional abundance, and characteristics of intact polar lipids in lipid extracts obtained by filtering eruption fluids from Crystal Geyser, sample CG03 dataset January 2020
Concentrations, fractional abundance, and characteristics of intact polar lipids in lipid extracts obtained by filtering eruption fluids from Crystal Geyser, sample CG15 dataset January 2020
Concentrations, fractional abundance, and characteristics of intact polar lipids in lipid extracts obtained by filtering eruption fluids from Crystal Geyser, sample CG13 dataset January 2020
Concentrations, fractional abundance, and characteristics of intact polar lipids in lipid extracts obtained by filtering eruption fluids from Crystal Geyser, sample CG11 dataset January 2020
Concentrations, fractional abundance, and characteristics of intact polar lipids in lipid extracts obtained by filtering eruption fluids from Crystal Geyser, sample CG09 dataset January 2020
Concentrations, fractional abundance, and characteristics of intact polar lipids in lipid extracts obtained by filtering eruption fluids from Crystal Geyser, sample CG19 dataset January 2020
Concentrations, fractional abundance, and characteristics of intact polar lipids in lipid extracts obtained by filtering eruption fluids from Crystal Geyser, sample CG17 dataset January 2020
Concentrations, fractional abundance, and characteristics of intact polar lipids in lipid extracts obtained by filtering eruption fluids from Crystal Geyser, sample CG07 dataset January 2020
Concentrations, fractional abundance, and characteristics of intact polar lipids in lipid extracts obtained by filtering eruption fluids from Crystal Geyser, sample CG05 dataset January 2020
Concentrations, fractional abundance, and characteristics of intact polar lipids in lipid extracts obtained by filtering eruption fluids from Crystal Geyser, sample CG03 dataset January 2020
Genome‐inferred spatio‐temporal resolution of an uncultivated Roizmanbacterium reveals its ecological preferences in groundwater journal December 2019
Hydrological data from Crystal Geyser, Utah, USA, determined with levelogger 2 dataset January 2020
Hydrological data from Crystal Geyser, Utah, USA, determined with levelogger 1 dataset January 2020
Concentrations, fractional abundance, and characteristics of intact polar lipids in lipid extracts obtained by filtering eruption fluids from Crystal Geyser, sample CG23 dataset January 2020
Carbon isotopic composition of dissolved inorganic carbon and IPL-derived fatty acids and phytane in lipid extracts obtained by filtering eruption fluids from Crystal Geyser dataset January 2020
Concentrations, fractional abundance, and characteristics of intact polar lipids in lipid extracts obtained by filtering eruption fluids from Crystal Geyser, sample CG21 dataset January 2020
Concentrations of IPL-derived fatty acids and phytane in lipid extracts obtained by filtering eruption fluids from Crystal Geyser dataset January 2020
Sampling information from Crystal Geyser, Utah, USA dataset January 2020
Concentrations, fractional abundance, and characteristics of intact polar lipids in lipid extracts obtained by filtering eruption fluids from Crystal Geyser, sample CG29 dataset January 2020
Concentrations, fractional abundance, and characteristics of intact polar lipids in lipid extracts obtained by filtering eruption fluids from Crystal Geyser, sample CG25 dataset January 2020
Concentrations, fractional abundance, and characteristics of intact polar lipids in lipid extracts obtained by filtering eruption fluids from Crystal Geyser, sample CG24 dataset January 2020
An archaeal symbiont-host association from the deep terrestrial subsurface journal May 2019
Hydrological data from Crystal Geyser, Utah, USA, determined with levelogger 1 dataset January 2020
Hydrological data from Crystal Geyser, Utah, USA, determined with levelogger 2 dataset January 2020
Concentrations, fractional abundance, and characteristics of intact polar lipids in lipid extracts obtained by filtering eruption fluids from Crystal Geyser, sample CG21 dataset January 2020
Concentrations of IPL-derived fatty acids and phytane in lipid extracts obtained by filtering eruption fluids from Crystal Geyser dataset January 2020
Concentrations, fractional abundance, and characteristics of intact polar lipids in lipid extracts obtained by filtering eruption fluids from Crystal Geyser, sample CG23 dataset January 2020
Carbon isotopic composition of dissolved inorganic carbon and IPL-derived fatty acids and phytane in lipid extracts obtained by filtering eruption fluids from Crystal Geyser dataset January 2020
Sampling information from Crystal Geyser, Utah, USA dataset January 2020
Concentrations, fractional abundance, and characteristics of intact polar lipids in lipid extracts obtained by filtering eruption fluids from Crystal Geyser, sample CG29 dataset January 2020
Concentrations, fractional abundance, and characteristics of intact polar lipids in lipid extracts obtained by filtering eruption fluids from Crystal Geyser, sample CG24 dataset January 2020
Concentrations, fractional abundance, and characteristics of intact polar lipids in lipid extracts obtained by filtering eruption fluids from Crystal Geyser, sample CG25 dataset January 2020