Dataset Information

Geomicrobiology of sublacustrine thermal vents in Yellowstone Lake: geochemical controls on microbial community structure and function.

ABSTRACT: Yellowstone Lake (Yellowstone National Park, WY, USA) is a large high-altitude (2200 m), fresh-water lake, which straddles an extensive caldera and is the center of significant geothermal activity. The primary goal of this interdisciplinary study was to evaluate the microbial populations inhabiting thermal vent communities in Yellowstone Lake using 16S rRNA gene and random metagenome sequencing, and to determine how geochemical attributes of vent waters influence the distribution of specific microorganisms and their metabolic potential. Thermal vent waters and associated microbial biomass were sampled during two field seasons (2007-2008) using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV). Sublacustrine thermal vent waters (circa 50-90°C) contained elevated concentrations of numerous constituents associated with geothermal activity including dissolved hydrogen, sulfide, methane and carbon dioxide. Microorganisms associated with sulfur-rich filamentous "streamer" communities of Inflated Plain and West Thumb (pH range 5-6) were dominated by bacteria from the Aquificales, but also contained thermophilic archaea from the Crenarchaeota and Euryarchaeota. Novel groups of methanogens and members of the Korarchaeota were observed in vents from West Thumb and Elliot's Crater (pH 5-6). Conversely, metagenome sequence from Mary Bay vent sediments did not yield large assemblies, and contained diverse thermophilic and nonthermophilic bacterial relatives. Analysis of functional genes associated with the major vent populations indicated a direct linkage to high concentrations of carbon dioxide, reduced sulfur (sulfide and/or elemental S), hydrogen and methane in the deep thermal ecosystems. Our observations show that sublacustrine thermal vents in Yellowstone Lake support novel thermophilic communities, which contain microorganisms with functional attributes not found to date in terrestrial geothermal systems of YNP.

SUBMITTER: Inskeep WP

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4620420 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Geomicrobiology of sublacustrine thermal vents in Yellowstone Lake: geochemical controls on microbial community structure and function.

Inskeep William P WP Jay Zackary J ZJ Macur Richard E RE Clingenpeel Scott S Tenney Aaron A Lovalvo David D Beam Jacob P JP Kozubal Mark A MA Shanks W C WC Morgan Lisa A LA Kan Jinjun J Gorby Yuri Y Yooseph Shibu S Nealson Kenneth K

Frontiers in microbiology 20151026

Yellowstone Lake (Yellowstone National Park, WY, USA) is a large high-altitude (2200 m), fresh-water lake, which straddles an extensive caldera and is the center of significant geothermal activity. The primary goal of this interdisciplinary study was to evaluate the microbial populations inhabiting thermal vent communities in Yellowstone Lake using 16S rRNA gene and random metagenome sequencing, and to determine how geochemical attributes of vent waters influence the distribution of specific mic ...[more]

PMID: 26579074

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Project description:The Yellowstone caldera contains the most numerous and diverse geothermal systems on Earth, yielding an extensive array of unique high-temperature environments that host a variety of deeply-rooted and understudied Archaea, Bacteria and Eukarya. The combination of extreme temperature and chemical conditions encountered in geothermal environments often results in considerably less microbial diversity than other terrestrial habitats and offers a tremendous opportunity for studying the structure and function of indigenous microbial communities and for establishing linkages between putative metabolisms and element cycling. Metagenome sequence (14-15,000 Sanger reads per site) was obtained for five high-temperature (>65 degrees C) chemotrophic microbial communities sampled from geothermal springs (or pools) in Yellowstone National Park (YNP) that exhibit a wide range in geochemistry including pH, dissolved sulfide, dissolved oxygen and ferrous iron. Metagenome data revealed significant differences in the predominant phyla associated with each of these geochemical environments. Novel members of the Sulfolobales are dominant in low pH environments, while other Crenarchaeota including distantly-related Thermoproteales and Desulfurococcales populations dominate in suboxic sulfidic sediments. Several novel archaeal groups are well represented in an acidic (pH 3) Fe-oxyhydroxide mat, where a higher O2 influx is accompanied with an increase in archaeal diversity. The presence or absence of genes and pathways important in S oxidation-reduction, H2-oxidation, and aerobic respiration (terminal oxidation) provide insight regarding the metabolic strategies of indigenous organisms present in geothermal systems. Multiple-pathway and protein-specific functional analysis of metagenome sequence data corroborated results from phylogenetic analyses and clearly demonstrate major differences in metabolic potential across sites. The distribution of functional genes involved in electron transport is consistent with the hypothesis that geochemical parameters (e.g., pH, sulfide, Fe, O2) control microbial community structure and function in YNP geothermal springs.

Project description:Ecosystem dynamics in monomictic lakes are characterized by seasonal thermal mixing and stratification. These physical processes bring about seasonal variations in nutrients and organic matter fluxes, affecting the biogeochemical processes that occur in the water column. Physical and chemical dynamics are generally reflected in seasonal structural changes in the phytoplankton and bacterio-plankton community. In this study, we analyzed, using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing, the structure of the bacterial community associated with large particles (>20 μm) in Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee, Israel), and its associations to phytoplankton populations. The study was carried out during late winter and early spring, a highly dynamic period in terms of thermal mixing, nutrient availability, and shifts in phytoplankton composition. Structural changes in the bacterioplankton population corresponded with limnological variations in the lake. In terms of the entire heterotrophic community, the structural patterns of particle-associated bacteria were mainly correlated with abiotic factors such as pH, ammonia, water temperature and nitrate. However, analysis of microbial taxon-specific correlations with phytoplankton species revealed a strong potential link between specific bacterial populations and the presence of different phytoplankton species, such as the cyanobacterium Microcystis, as well as the dinoflagellates Peridinium and Peridiniopsis. We found that Brevundimonas, a common freshwater genus, and Bdellovibrio, a well-known Gram-negative bacteria predator, were positively associated to Microcystis, suggesting a potentially important role of these three taxa in the microbial ecology of the lake. Our results show that the dynamics of environmental abiotic conditions, rather than specific phytoplankton assemblages, are the main factors positively correlated with changes in the community structure as a whole. Nevertheless, some specific bacteria may interact and be linked with specific phytoplankton, which may potentially control the dynamic patterns of the microbial community.

Project description:During the 1960s, small quantities of radioactive materials were codisposed with chemical waste at the Little Forest Legacy Site (Sydney, Australia) in 3-meter-deep, unlined trenches. Chemical and microbial analyses, including functional and taxonomic information derived from shotgun metagenomics, were collected across a 6-week period immediately after a prolonged rainfall event to assess the impact of changing water levels upon the microbial ecology and contaminant mobility. Collectively, results demonstrated that oxygen-laden rainwater rapidly altered the redox balance in the trench water, strongly impacting microbial functioning as well as the radiochemistry. Two contaminants of concern, plutonium and americium, were shown to transition from solid-iron-associated species immediately after the initial rainwater pulse to progressively more soluble moieties as reducing conditions were enhanced. Functional metagenomics revealed the potentially important role that the taxonomically diverse microbial community played in this transition. In particular, aerobes dominated in the first day, followed by an increase of facultative anaerobes/denitrifiers at day 4. Toward the mid-end of the sampling period, the functional and taxonomic profiles depicted an anaerobic community distinguished by a higher representation of dissimilatory sulfate reduction and methanogenesis pathways. Our results have important implications to similar near-surface environmental systems in which redox cycling occurs.IMPORTANCE The role of chemical and microbiological factors in mediating the biogeochemistry of groundwaters from trenches used to dispose of radioactive materials during the 1960s is examined in this study. Specifically, chemical and microbial analyses, including functional and taxonomic information derived from shotgun metagenomics, were collected across a 6-week period immediately after a prolonged rainfall event to assess how changing water levels influence microbial ecology and contaminant mobility. Results demonstrate that oxygen-laden rainwater rapidly altered the redox balance in the trench water, strongly impacting microbial functioning as well as the radiochemistry. Two contaminants of concern, plutonium and americium, were shown to transition from solid-iron-associated species immediately after the initial rainwater pulse to progressively more soluble moieties as reducing conditions were enhanced. Functional metagenomics revealed the important role that the taxonomically diverse microbial community played in this transition. Our results have important implications to similar near-surface environmental systems in which redox cycling occurs.

Dataset Information

Geomicrobiology of sublacustrine thermal vents in Yellowstone Lake: geochemical controls on microbial community structure and function.

Publications

Geomicrobiology of sublacustrine thermal vents in Yellowstone Lake: geochemical controls on microbial community structure and function.

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