Metabolic Strategies Shared by Basement Residents of the Lost City Hydrothermal Field
dc.contributor.author
Brazelton, William J.
dc.contributor.author
McGonigle, Julia M.
dc.contributor.author
Motamedi, Shahrzad
dc.contributor.author
Pendleton, H. Lizethe
dc.contributor.author
Twing, Katrina I.
dc.contributor.author
Miller, Briggs C.
dc.contributor.author
Lowe, William J.
dc.contributor.author
Hoffman, Alessandrina M.
dc.contributor.author
Prator, Cecilia A.
dc.contributor.author
Chadwick, Grayson L.
dc.contributor.author
Anderson, Rika E.
dc.contributor.author
Thomas, Elaina
dc.contributor.author
Butterfield, David A.
dc.contributor.author
Aquino, Karmina A.
dc.contributor.author
Früh-Green, Gretchen L.
dc.contributor.author
Schrenk, Matthew O.
dc.contributor.author
Lang, Susan Q.
dc.date.accessioned
2022-10-24T06:47:15Z
dc.date.available
2022-08-28T05:28:30Z
dc.date.available
2022-08-31T14:22:47Z
dc.date.available
2022-10-24T06:47:15Z
dc.date.issued
2022
dc.identifier.issn
0099-2240
dc.identifier.issn
1098-5336
dc.identifier.other
10.1128/aem.00929-22
en_US
dc.identifier.uri
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/566943
dc.identifier.doi
10.3929/ethz-b-000566943
dc.description.abstract
Alkaline fluids venting from chimneys of the Lost City hydrothermal field flow from a potentially vast microbial habitat within the seafloor where energy and organic molecules are released by chemical reactions within rocks uplifted from Earth's mantle. In this study, we investigated hydrothermal fluids venting from Lost City chimneys as windows into subseafloor environments where the products of geochemical reactions, such as molecular hydrogen (H-2), formate, and methane, may be the only available sources of energy for biological activity. Our deep sequencing of metagenomes and metatranscriptomes from these hydrothermal fluids revealed a few key species of archaea and bacteria that are likely to play critical roles in the subseafloor microbial ecosystem. We identified a population of Thermodesulfovibrionales (belonging to phylum Nitrospirota) as a prevalent sulfate-reducing bacterium that may be responsible for much of the consumption of H-2 and sulfate in Lost City fluids. Metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) classified as Methanosarcinaceae and Candidatus Bipolaricaulota were also recovered from venting fluids and represent potential methanogenic and acetogenic members of the subseafloor ecosystem. These genomes share novel hydrogenases and formate dehydrogenase-like sequences that may be unique to hydrothermal environments where H-2 and formate are much more abundant than carbon dioxide. The results of this study include multiple examples of metabolic strategies that appear to be advantageous in hydrothermal and subsurface alkaline environments where energy and carbon are provided by geochemical reactions. IMPORTANCE The Lost City hydrothermal field is an iconic example of a microbial ecosystem fueled by energy and carbon from Earth's mantle. Uplift of mantle rocks into the seafloor can trigger a process known as serpentinization that releases molecular hydrogen (H-2) and creates unusual environmental conditions where simple organic carbon molecules are more stable than dissolved inorganic carbon. This study provides an initial glimpse into the kinds of microbes that live deep within the seafloor where serpentinization takes place, by sampling hydrothermal fluids exiting from the Lost City chimneys. The metabolic strategies that these microbes appear to be using are also shared by microbes that inhabit other sites of serpentinization, including continental subsurface environments and natural springs. Therefore, the results of this study contribute to a broader, interdisciplinary effort to understand the general principles and mechanisms by which serpentinization-associated processes can support life on Earth and perhaps other worlds.
en_US
dc.format
application/pdf
en_US
dc.language.iso
en
en_US
dc.publisher
American Society for Microbiology
en_US
dc.rights.uri
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subject
acetogenesis
en_US
dc.subject
formate
en_US
dc.subject
hydrogenase
en_US
dc.subject
hydrothermal
en_US
dc.subject
metagenomics
en_US
dc.subject
methanogenesis
en_US
dc.subject
serpentinization
en_US
dc.subject
sulfate reduction
en_US
dc.title
Metabolic Strategies Shared by Basement Residents of the Lost City Hydrothermal Field
en_US
dc.type
Journal Article
dc.rights.license
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
dc.date.published
2022-08-11
ethz.journal.title
Applied and Environmental Microbiology
ethz.journal.volume
88
en_US
ethz.journal.issue
17
en_US
ethz.journal.abbreviated
Appl. Environ. Microbiol
ethz.pages.start
e00929-22
en_US
ethz.size
21 p.
en_US
ethz.version.deposit
publishedVersion
en_US
ethz.identifier.wos
ethz.identifier.scopus
ethz.publication.place
Washington, DC
en_US
ethz.publication.status
published
en_US
ethz.date.deposited
2022-08-28T05:28:58Z
ethz.source
WOS
ethz.eth
yes
en_US
ethz.availability
Open access
en_US
ethz.rosetta.installDate
2022-10-24T06:47:16Z
ethz.rosetta.lastUpdated
2023-02-07T07:17:41Z
ethz.rosetta.versionExported
true
ethz.COinS
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