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Title: Extraordinary phylogenetic diversity and metabolic versatility in aquifer sediment

Journal Article · · Nature Communications
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms3120· OSTI ID:1407195
 [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [2];  [5];  [6]
  1. Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Earth and Planetary Science
  2. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Earth Sciences Division
  3. Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States). UC Davis Genome Center
  4. USDOE Joint Genome Institute (JGI), Walnut Creek, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Genomics Division
  5. Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States). UC Davis Genome Center. Dept. of Evolution and Ecology. Dept. of Medical Microbiology and Immunology
  6. Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Earth and Planetary Science; Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Earth Sciences Division

Microorganisms in the subsurface represent a substantial but poorly understood component of the Earth’s biosphere. Subsurface environments are complex and difficult to characterize; thus, their microbiota have remained as a ‘dark matter’ of the carbon and other biogeochemical cycles. Here we deeply sequence two sediment-hosted microbial communities from an aquifer adjacent to the Colorado River, CO, USA. No single organism represents more than ~1% of either community. Remarkably, many bacteria and archaea in these communities are novel at the phylum level or belong to phyla lacking a sequenced representative. The dominant organism in deeper sediment, RBG-1, is a member of a new phylum. On the basis of its reconstructed complete genome, RBG-1 is metabolically versatile. Its wide respiration-based repertoire may enable it to respond to the fluctuating redox environment close to the water table. We document extraordinary microbial novelty and the importance of previously unknown lineages in sediment biogeochemical transformations.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231; SC0004733
OSTI ID:
1407195
Journal Information:
Nature Communications, Vol. 4; ISSN 2041-1723
Publisher:
Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 145 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Genomic reconstruction of a novel, deeply branched sediment archaeal phylum with pathways for acetogenesis and sulfur reduction journal January 2016
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