Extremophilic taxa predominate in a microbial community of photovoltaic panels in a tropical region

Abstract

Photovoltaic panels can be colonized by a highly diverse microbial diversity, despite life-threatening conditions. Although they are distributed worldwide, the microorganisms living on their surfaces have never been profiled in tropical regions using 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing and PICRUst metagenome prediction of functional content. In this work, we investigated photovoltaic panels from two cities in southeast Brazil, Sorocaba and Itatiba, using these bioinformatics approach. Results showed that, despite significant differences in microbial diversity (p < 0.001), the taxonomic profile was very similar for both photovoltaic panels, dominated mainly by Proteobacteria, Bacteroidota, and lower amounts of Cyanobacteria phyla. A predominance of Hymenobacter and Methylobacterium-Methylorubrum was observed at the genus level. Moreover, we identified a microbial common core composed of Hymenobacter, Deinococcus, Sphingomonas, Methylobacterium-Methylorubrum, Craurococcus-Caldovatus, Massilia, Noviherbaspirillum, and 1174–901–12 sharing genera. Predicted metabolisms focused on specific genes associated to radiation and desiccation resistance, and pigments, were detected in members of the common core and the most abundant genera. Our results suggested that taxonomic and functional profiles investigated were consistent with the harsh environment that photovoltaic panel represent. Moreover, the presence of stress genes in the predicted functional content was a preliminary evidence that microbes living there are a possibly source of metabolites with biotechnological interest.

Different Responses of Bacteria and Archaea to Environmental Variables in Brines of the Mahai Potash Mine, Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

“…Another abundant bacterial genus Methylobacterium–Methylorubrum is facultatively methylotrophic bacteria; they can grow on methanol as the sole carbon and energy source, and several strains can also utilize methylamine [ 55 ]. In the photovoltaic panel ecosystem, Methylobacterium–Methylorubrum was reported to be involved in all metabolisms related to stress resistance and can tolerate low nutrient conditions [ 56 ].…”

Compositional Changes and Ecotoxicological Aspects of Hydrogen Peroxide Application to a Natural Plankton Community

“…5 and Supplementary Table 7). Although Craurococcuss-Caldovatus was reported as an extremophilic taxon dominating the core microbial community that colonizes photovoltaic panels in Brazil and creates highly oxidative conditions, interestingly, it was not associated with radiation or desiccation resistance following predictive functional analyses, unlike other genera, such as Acidiphilium, Chroococcidiopsis and Sphingomonas (Moura et al, 2021).…”

The Microbiome of Things: Appliances, Machines, and Devices Hosting Artificial Niche-Adapted Microbial Communities

“…Here, we describe the microbial profile of “things”, which, despite being in constant contact with humans or the human activity, do not necessarily share a microbiome characterized by human-associated microorganisms but, instead, represent microbial micro-niches with their own selective pressures and characteristic microbiomes. Here, we look briefly into the previous research on the natural microbiomes of “things”, and we use examples such as that of the photovoltaic panels [ 20 , 21 ], the car tank lid [ 22 ], or the microbiome of automobile air-conditioning systems [ 23 ]. The focus of the “Microbiome of Things” (MoT), the existence of which we propose here, is analogous to the “Internet of Things” (IoT) concept.…”

“…[ 20 , 24 , 25 ], and, to a lesser extent, Methylobacterium spp. [ 21 ], Roseomonas spp. [ 26 ] and Novosphingobium spp.…”

“…To date, several studies have shown that most culturable bacteria isolated from photovoltaic panels can produce a wide range of carotenoids to tolerate radiation [ 20 , 26 ]. Indeed, the antioxidant-related metabolisms of members of the genera Hymenobacter and Methylobacterium suggests that these microorganisms can have promising applications in the food and pharmaceutical industries [ 21 ].…”