Dataset Information

Molecular analysis of arsenate-reducing bacteria within Cambodian sediments following amendment with acetate.

ABSTRACT: The health of millions is threatened by the use of groundwater contaminated with sediment-derived arsenic for drinking water and irrigation purposes in Southeast Asia. The microbial reduction of sorbed As(V) to the potentially more mobile As(III) has been implicated in release of arsenic into groundwater, but to date there have been few studies of the microorganisms that can mediate this transformation in aquifers. With the use of stable isotope probing of nucleic acids, we present evidence that the introduction of a proxy for organic matter ((13)C-labeled acetate) stimulated As(V) reduction in sediments collected from a Cambodian aquifer that hosts arsenic-rich groundwater. This was accompanied by an increase in the proportion of prokaryotes closely related to the dissimilatory As(V)-reducing bacteria Sulfurospirillum strain NP-4 and Desulfotomaculum auripigmentum. As(V) respiratory reductase genes (arrA) closely associated with those found in Sulfurospirillum barnesii and Geobacter uraniumreducens were also detected in active bacterial communities utilizing (13)C-labeled acetate in microcosms. This study suggests a direct link between inputs of organic matter and the increased prevalence and activity of organisms which transform As(V) to the potentially more mobile and thus hazardous As(III) via dissimilatory As(V) reduction.

SUBMITTER: Lear G

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1828664 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Molecular analysis of arsenate-reducing bacteria within Cambodian sediments following amendment with acetate.

Lear G G Song B B Gault A G AG Polya D A DA Lloyd J R JR

Applied and environmental microbiology 20061117 4

The health of millions is threatened by the use of groundwater contaminated with sediment-derived arsenic for drinking water and irrigation purposes in Southeast Asia. The microbial reduction of sorbed As(V) to the potentially more mobile As(III) has been implicated in release of arsenic into groundwater, but to date there have been few studies of the microorganisms that can mediate this transformation in aquifers. With the use of stable isotope probing of nucleic acids, we present evidence that ...[more]

PMID: 17114326

Similar Datasets

Project description:Although environmental stimuli are known to affect the structure and function of microbial communities, their impact on the metabolic network of microorganisms has not been well investigated. Here, geochemical analyses, high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA genes and transcripts, and isolation of potentially relevant bacteria were carried out to elucidate the anaerobic respiration processes stimulated by nitrate (20 mM) amendment of marine sediments. Marine sediments deposited by the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011 were incubated anaerobically in the dark at 25∘C for 5 days. Nitrate in slurry water decreased gradually for 2 days, then more rapidly until its complete depletion at day 5; production of N2O followed the same pattern. From day 2 to 5, the sulfate concentration significantly increased and the sulfur content in solid-phase sediments significantly decreased. These results indicated that denitrification and sulfur oxidation occurred simultaneously. Illumina sequencing revealed the proliferation of known sulfur oxidizers, i.e., Sulfurimonas sp. and Chromatiales bacteria, which accounted for approximately 43.5% and 14.8% of the total population at day 5, respectively. These oxidizers also expressed 16S rRNA to a considerable extent, whereas the other microorganisms, e.g., iron(III) reducers and methanogens, became metabolically active at the end of the incubation. Extinction dilution culture in a basal-salts medium supplemented with sulfur compounds and nitrate successfully isolated the predominant sulfur oxidizers: Sulfurimonas sp. strain HDS01 and Thioalkalispira sp. strain HDS22. Their 16S rRNA genes showed 95.2-96.7% sequence similarity to the closest cultured relatives and they grew chemolithotrophically on nitrate and sulfur. Novel sulfur-oxidizing bacteria were thus directly involved in carbon fixation under nitrate-reducing conditions, activating anaerobic respiration processes and the reorganization of microbial communities in the deposited marine sediments.

Project description:The potential for oxidation of ammonia in anoxic marine sediments exists through anaerobic oxidation by Nitrosomonas-like organisms, utilizing nitrogen dioxide, coupling of nitrification, manganese reduction, and anaerobic oxidation of ammonium by planctomycetes (the Anammox process). Here we describe the presence of microbial communities with the potential to carry out these processes in a natural marine sediment system (Loch Duich, Scotland). Natural microbial communities of Planctomycetales-Verrucomicrobia and beta- and gamma-proteobacterial ammonia-oxidizing bacteria were characterized by analysis of 16S rRNA genes amplified using group-specific primers by PCR- and reverse transcription-PCR amplification of 16S rDNA and RNA, respectively. Amplification products were analyzed by sequencing of clones and by denaturant gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). Amplification of primers specific for Planctomycetales-Verrucomicrobia and beta-proteobacterial ammonia-oxidizing bacteria generated products at all sampling sites and depths, but no product was generated using primers specific for gamma-proteobacterial ammonia-oxidizing bacteria. 16S rDNA DGGE banding patterns indicated complex communities of beta-proteobacterial ammonia-oxidizing bacteria in anoxic marine sediments. Phylogenetic analysis of sequences from clones and those excised from DGGE gels suggests dominance of Nitrosospira cluster 1-like organisms and of strains belonging to a novel cluster represented in dominant bands in 16S rRNA DGGE banding patterns. Their presence indicates a group of organisms closely related to recognized beta-proteobacterial ammonia-oxidizing bacteria that may be selected in anoxic environments and may be capable of anoxic ammonia oxidation. Sequence analysis of planctomycete clone libraries and sequences excised from DGGE gels also demonstrated a diverse microbial community and suggested the presence of new subdivisions, but no sequence related to recognized Anammox organisms was detected.

Project description:On a global scale, crustal fluids fuel a large part of the deep-subseafloor biosphere by providing electron acceptors for microbial respiration. In this study, we examined bacterial cultures from sediments of the Juan de Fuca Ridge, Northeast Pacific (IODP Site U1301). The sediments comprise three distinctive compartments: an upper sulfate-containing zone, formed by bottom-seawater diffusion, a sulfate-depleted zone, and a second (∼140 m thick) sulfate-containing zone influenced by fluid diffusion from the basaltic aquifer. In order to identify and characterize sulfate-reducing bacteria, enrichment cultures from different sediment layers were set up, analyzed by molecular screening, and used for isolating pure cultures. The initial enrichments harbored specific communities of heterotrophic microorganisms. Strains affiliated to Desulfosporosinus lacus, Desulfotomaculum sp., and Desulfovibrio aespoeensis were isolated only from the top layers (1.3-9.1 meters below seafloor, mbsf), while several strains of Desulfovibrio indonesiensis and a relative of Desulfotignum balticum were obtained from near-basement sediments (240-262 mbsf). Physiological tests on three selected strains affiliated to Dv. aespoeensis, Dv. indonesiensis, and Desulfotignum balticum indicated that all reduce sulfate with a limited number of short-chain n-alcohols or fatty acids and were able to ferment either ethanol, pyruvate, or betaine. All three isolates shared the capacity of growing chemolithotrophically with H(2) as sole electron donor. Strain P23, affiliating with Dv. indonesiensis, even grew autotrophically in the absence of any organic compounds. Thus, H(2) might be an essential electron donor in the deep-subseafloor where the availability of organic substrates is limited. The isolation of non-sporeforming sulfate reducers from fluid-influenced layers indicates that they have survived the long-term burial as active populations even after the separation from the seafloor hundreds of meters above.

Project description:Sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) are essential functional microbial taxa for degrading organic matter (OM) in anoxic marine environments. However, there are little experimental data regarding how SRB regulates microbial communities. Here, we applied a top-down microbial community management approach by inhibiting SRB to elucidate their contributions to the microbial community during OM degradation. Based on the highly replicated microcosms (n = 20) of five different incubation stages, we found that many microbial community properties were influenced after inhibiting SRB, including the composition, structure, network, and community assembly processes. We also found a strong coexistence pattern between SRB and other abundant phylogenetic lineages via positive frequency-dependent selection. The relative abundances of the families Synergistaceae, Peptostreptococcaceae, Dethiosulfatibacteraceae, Prolixibacteraceae, Marinilabiliaceae, and Marinifilaceae were simultaneously suppressed after inhibiting SRB during OM degradation. A close association between SRB and the order Marinilabiliales among coexisting taxa was most prominent. They contributed to preserved modules during network successions, were keystone nodes mediating the networked community, and contributed to homogeneous ecological selection. The molybdate tolerance test of the isolated strains of Marinilabiliales showed that inhibited SRB (not the inhibitor of SRB itself) triggered a decrease in the relative abundance of Marinilabiliales. We also found that inhibiting SRB resulted in reduced pH, which is unsuitable for the growth of most Marinilabiliales strains, while the addition of pH buffer (HEPES) in SRB-inhibited treatment microcosms restored the pH and the relative abundances of these bacteria. These data supported that SRB could modify niches to affect species coexistence. IMPORTANCE Our model offers insight into the ecological properties of SRB and identifies a previously undocumented dimension of OM degradation. This targeted inhibition approach could provide a novel framework for illustrating how functional microbial taxa associate the composition and structure of the microbial community, molecular ecological network, and community assembly processes. These findings emphasize the importance of SRB during OM degradation. Our results proved the feasibility of the proposed study framework, inhibiting functional taxa at the community level, for illustrating when and to what extent functional taxa can contribute to ecosystem services.

Dataset Information

Molecular analysis of arsenate-reducing bacteria within Cambodian sediments following amendment with acetate.

Publications

Molecular analysis of arsenate-reducing bacteria within Cambodian sediments following amendment with acetate.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets