Bacterial community structure and metabolic potential in microbialite‐forming mats from South Australian saline lakes

Nguyen, Suong T T; Vardeh, David P; Nelson, Tiffanie M.; Pearson, Leanne A.; Kinsela, Andrew S.; Neilan, Brett A.

doi:10.1111/gbi.12489

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 114 publications

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“…The salinity in La Brava was significantly (40%) higher than that of La Punta. This salinity level would explain the presence of certain phyla related to saline water, such as Actinobacteria , which has been found in other studies in saline lakes ( 38 – 40 ). The phylum Actinobacteria , in particular, has a high capacity for degrading organic compounds such as cellulose and chitin ( 41 ), and many actinobacteria are notable for their ability to produce antibiotic-like compounds ( 42 ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

Compositional Changes in Sediment Microbiota Are Associated with Seasonal Variation of the Water Column in High-Altitude Hyperarid Andean Lake Systems

et al. 2023

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In this study, we analyzed the persistence of the water column through satellite images and physicochemical characterization to investigate the composition and diversity in High Andean Lake Systems in a hyperarid environment. In addition to the persistence of the water column, this approach can be used to analyze changes in the morphology of saline accumulations and persistence of snow or ice; for example, for establishing variable plant cover over time and evaluating the microbiota associated with soils with seasonal changes in plants.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 69%

Compositional Changes in Sediment Microbiota Are Associated with Seasonal Variation of the Water Column in High-Altitude Hyperarid Andean Lake Systems

et al. 2023

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“…This means results describing functional pathways are inferred from taxonomy based on the relative abundance of ASVs and not on direct metabolic activity (Nagpal et al, 2019). Despite this limitation, the iVikodak approach has been demonstrated to accurately predict the functional metabolisms of microbial communities in microbialiteforming mats (Nguyen et al, 2022), and other microbial mats from geothermal springs (Coman et al, 2015). Our metabolic potential results were mostly consistent with those of a recent work (Iniesto et al, 2021) Hernández Zavala, 2016;Ibarra-Sánchez et al, 2020;Mundo Velázquez, 2020;Pérez-Bernal et al, 2017 strongly support our prediction of the metabolic functions for carbon fixation, photosynthesis and methanogenesis.…”

Section: Indirect Metabolic Potential Based On Taxonomic Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Geomicrobiology of the Rincon de Parangueo maar crater: Exploring the link between an evolving extreme environment and its potential metabolic diversity

Sánchez‐Sánchez,

Cerca,

Moguel

et al. 2023

Freshwater Biology

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Rincon de Parangueo (RP) is a Quaternary maar crater located in the Michoacan‐Guanajuato Volcanic Field in central Mexico. Like other volcanic craters in the region, the central part was occupied by an endorheic lacustrine system. As a consequence of extensive groundwater extraction, the perennial lake started a gradual desiccation process and now the remnant ponds host a highly saline–alkaline ecosystem. The stratigraphic record indicates an exceptional and long‐term sedimentation of carbonate microbialites. Previous studies based on the 16S rRNA gene have shown that microbial communities have a widespread presence in the crater at the microbialites, the remaining saline ponds, superficial soils and below the surface. To understand the possible role of the microbial communities that generate these biogeological structures, novel analytical methods to resolve the amplicon datasets and their microbial metabolic potential were used. We describe in detail the relationship between the microbial communities, the evolution of physicochemical parameters, and carbonate morphology, in four micro‐environments. A 16S rRNA gene sequencing dataset from previous publications was re‐analysed using an ASV‐based bioinformatic pipeline to identify new insights into the microbial assemblage. Finally, a taxon‐based metabolic profile was used to predict the potential metabolic contribution of the prokaryotic community. Results indicated a refinement in terms of community composition using the ASV‐based bioinformatic methods. Functional profiling through 16S rRNA gene‐based analysis suggested metabolisms associated with carbonate precipitation, indicating a broad potential for microbially mediated carbonate precipitation (e.g., carbon fixation and photosynthesis). The possibility of biogenic methane gas production by methanogenic microorganisms was recognised, supporting the estimated flow of methane on the surface soils. The lacustrine evolution over the last years and the extreme physicochemical characteristics of RP have an impact on the microbial community structure. Prokaryotic community and metabolic potential results from RP coincide with the diversity and abundance of microbial communities and functional metabolisms reported from other microbialite‐forming lakes along the Trans Mexican Volcanic Belt. The identification of important possible phylotypes involved in carbonate precipitation might be an important factor in considering RP microbialites as active calcifying entities. These findings provide novel insights into the potential key role of metabolic pathways driving the process of carbonate precipitation inside RP and evidence of its importance as a microbial biodiversity hotspot in Mexico.

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Sea spray allows for the growth of subaerial microbialites at the driest desert on Earth

Azua-Bustos,

González-Silva,

Freedman

et al. 2024

Sci Rep

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Due to its extreme conditions, microbial life in the Atacama Desert is known to survive in well-protected micro-habitats (hypolithic, endolithic, etc.), but rarely directly exposed to the environment, that is, epilithic habitats. Here we report a unique site, La Portada, a cliff confronting the Pacific Ocean in the Coastal Range of this desert, in which the constant input of water provided by the sea spray allows for the growth of a black-colored epilithic subaerial microbial ecosystem. Formed by a complex community of halophilic microorganisms belonging to the three domains of life, this ecosystem displays the typical three-dimensional structure of benthic microbialites, coherent with the presence of a diversity of cyanobacteria (including species from the genera that are known to form them), a constant high water activity and an ample availability of carbonate ions. From these microbialites we isolated Hortae werneckii, a fungal species which by producing melanin, not only explains the dark color of these microbialites, but may also play the role of protecting the whole community from extreme UV radiation. A number of biosignatures not only confirmed sea spray as the main source of water, but also suggests that one place to consider for the search of evidences of life on Mars would be on the paleo-coastlines that surrounded vanished oceans such as that on Aeolis Dorsa.

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Bacterial community structure and metabolic potential in microbialite‐forming mats from South Australian saline lakes

Abstract: This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.

Cited by 5 publications

References 114 publications

Compositional Changes in Sediment Microbiota Are Associated with Seasonal Variation of the Water Column in High-Altitude Hyperarid Andean Lake Systems

Compositional Changes in Sediment Microbiota Are Associated with Seasonal Variation of the Water Column in High-Altitude Hyperarid Andean Lake Systems

Geomicrobiology of the Rincon de Parangueo maar crater: Exploring the link between an evolving extreme environment and its potential metabolic diversity

Sea spray allows for the growth of subaerial microbialites at the driest desert on Earth

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