Seasonal Dynamics of Bathyarchaeota-Dominated Benthic Archaeal Communities Associated with Seagrass (Zostera japonica) Meadows

Abstract

Little is known about the seasonal dynamic of archaeal communities and their potential ecological functions in temperate seagrass ecosystems. In this study, seasonal changes in diversity, community structure, and potential metabolic functions of benthic archaea in surface sediments of two seagrass meadows along the northern Bohai Sea in China were investigated using Miseq sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene and Tax4Fun2 functional prediction. Overall, Crenarchaeota (mainly Bathy-15, Bathy-8, and Bathy-6) dominated, followed by Thermoplasmatota, Asgardarchaeota, and Halobacterota, in terms of alpha diversities and relative abundance. Significant seasonal changes in the entire archaeal community structure were observed. The major phyla Methanobacteria, Nitrosopumilales, and genus Methanolobus had higher proportions in spring, while MBG-D and Bathyarchaeota were more abundant in summer and autumn, respectively. Alpha diversities (Shannon and Simpson) were the highest in summer and the lowest in autumn (ANOVA test, p < 0.05). Salinity, total organic carbon, and total organic nitrogen were the most significant factors influencing the entire archaeal community. Higher cellulose and hemicellulose degradation potentials occurred in summer, while methane metabolism potentials were higher in winter. This study indicated that season had strong effects in modulating benthic archaeal diversity and functional potentials in the temperate seagrass ecosystems.

Metagenomics insights into microbial diversity shifts among seagrass sediments

“…Bathyarchaeota, Euryarchaeota, and Ca . Thermoplasmatota, were the most abundant phyla, consistent with previous studies in marine sediments (P. Liu et al, 2021; Zheng et al, 2019). The phylum Euryarchaeota dominated the upper sediment of all seagrass species.…”

Changes in the Rhizosphere Prokaryotic Community Structure of Halodule wrightii Monospecific Stands Associated to Submarine Groundwater Discharges in a Karstic Costal Area

“…Archaeal community was dominated by Crenarchaeota , Euryarchaeota and Asgardaeota phyla and almost 50% of archaeal sequences were represented by Bathyarchaeia class ( Table S3 ). Similar relative abundances for this class were obtained by [ 13 ] in sediments colonized by Z. japonica but differ from previous reports suggesting that Bathyarchaeota and Euryarchaeota are more abundant in mid- and high- latitude aquatic environments [ 11 ]. Bathyarchaeota recognized by its potential for acetogenesis, dissimilatory nitrite reduction to ammonium, methane production and sulfur cycling [ 13 , 56 , 57 ], may serve as a keystone species with possible interactions with sulfate-reducing bacteria.…”

“…Similar relative abundances for this class were obtained by [ 13 ] in sediments colonized by Z. japonica but differ from previous reports suggesting that Bathyarchaeota and Euryarchaeota are more abundant in mid- and high- latitude aquatic environments [ 11 ]. Bathyarchaeota recognized by its potential for acetogenesis, dissimilatory nitrite reduction to ammonium, methane production and sulfur cycling [ 13 , 56 , 57 ], may serve as a keystone species with possible interactions with sulfate-reducing bacteria. Its role in nitrogen (nitrogen fixation, ammonium transporter) and sulfur metabolism (sulfate and thiosulfate reduction) and the capability for degrading detrital proteins, polymeric carbohydrates and fatty acids have also been previously reported [ 11 ].…”

“…Although archaeal groups account for a significant part of the prokaryotic community in coastal ecosystems, little attention has been paid to seagrasses colonized sediments [ 11 ]. Current research has found Euryarchaeota , Bathyarchaeota , Crenarchaeota , Thermoplasmatota and Asgardarchaeota as the most abundant taxa in Zostera Japonica and Zostera noltii meadows [ 12 , 13 ]. Some archaeal taxa, such as Bathyarchaeota , may be involved in important biogeochemical functions such as sedimentary organic matter degradation, acetogenesis and methane metabolism [ 11 , 14 , 15 ].…”

Fate and Transformation of 6:2 Fluorotelomer Sulfonic Acid Affected by Plant, Nutrient, Bioaugmentation, and Soil Microbiome Interactions

“…Within a microbial community, diverse and multiple species can perform similar catabolic functions that affect the microbial community structure over time or in response to stimuli. To evaluate the functional capacity of the soil microbiome in sandy soil and rhizosphere sandy soil that received different treatments, Tax4Fun2 was used to predict functional features based on the 16S rRNA gene sequencing data. − Our previous study reported desulfonation and defluorination enzymes involved in 6:2 FTSA biodegradation by RHA1 . So, the analysis was focused on these known desulfonation and defluorination enzymes.…”