The transition to microbial photosynthesis in hot spring ecosystems

Cox, Alysia; Shock, Everett L.; Havig, J. R.

doi:10.1016/j.chemgeo.2010.11.022

Cited by 87 publications

(149 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…Site E (62 1C) was well below the known upper temperature limit for photosynthesis (Brock, 1967;Cox et al, 2011) and contained OTUs belonging to known photosynthetic genera. Synechococcus and Chloroflexus were each represented by at least one 97% OTU of B3.57% relative abundance at site E. However, neither organism was detected at site C (76 and 72 1C), possibly due to temperature fluctuations that were common in GBS (data not shown).…”

Section: Inferences On Upper Temperature Limits Of Biological Functionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sediment microbial communities in Great Boiling Spring are controlled by temperature and distinct from water communities

et al. 2012

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Great Boiling Spring is a large, circumneutral, geothermal spring in the US Great Basin. Twelve samples were collected from water and four different sediment sites on four different dates. Microbial community composition and diversity were assessed by PCR amplification of a portion of the small subunit rRNA gene using a universal primer set followed by pyrosequencing of the V8 region. Analysis of 164 178 quality-filtered pyrotags clearly distinguished sediment and water microbial communities. Water communities were extremely uneven and dominated by the bacterium Thermocrinis. Sediment microbial communities grouped according to temperature and sampling location, with a strong, negative, linear relationship between temperature and richness at all taxonomic levels. Two sediment locations, Site A (87-80 1C) and Site B (79 1C), were predominantly composed of single phylotypes of the bacterial lineage GAL35 ( p ¼ 36.1%), Aeropyrum ( p ¼ 16.6%), the archaeal lineage pSL4 ( p ¼ 15.9%), the archaeal lineage NAG1 ( p ¼ 10.6%) and Thermocrinis ( p ¼ 7.6%). The ammonia-oxidizing archaeon 'Candidatus Nitrosocaldus' was relatively abundant in all sediment samples o82 1C ( p ¼ 9.51%), delineating the upper temperature limit for chemolithotrophic ammonia oxidation in this spring. This study underscores the distinctness of water and sediment communities in GBS and the importance of temperature in driving microbial diversity, composition and, ultimately, the functioning of biogeochemical cycles.

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Section: Inferences On Upper Temperature Limits Of Biological Functionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sediment microbial communities in Great Boiling Spring are controlled by temperature and distinct from water communities

et al. 2012

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“…ife in environments with temperatures that exceed the upper limit of photosynthesis (ϳ73°C) is supported by chemical energy (1)(2)(3)(4)(5). In the case of high-temperature (Ͼ73°C) terrestrial hot spring environments, the prevalence of members of the bacterial phylum Aquificales has been interpreted to reflect the importance of lithoautotrophic metabolism in supporting communities inhabiting these systems (6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon Source Preference in Chemosynthetic Hot Spring Communities

Urschel

Kubo

Hoehler

et al. 2015

Appl Environ Microbiol

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Rates of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), formate, and acetate mineralization and/or assimilation were determined in 13 high-temperature (>73°C) hot springs in Yellowstone National Park (YNP), Wyoming, in order to evaluate the relative importance of these substrates in supporting microbial metabolism. While 9 of the hot spring communities exhibited rates of DIC assimilation that were greater than those of formate and acetate assimilation, 2 exhibited rates of formate and/or acetate assimilation that exceeded those of DIC assimilation. Overall rates of DIC, formate, and acetate mineralization and assimilation were positively correlated with spring pH but showed little correlation with temperature. Communities sampled from hot springs with similar geochemistries generally exhibited similar rates of substrate transformation, as well as similar community compositions, as revealed by 16S rRNA gene-tagged sequencing. Amendment of microcosms with small (micromolar) amounts of formate suppressed DIC assimilation in short-term (<45-min) incubations, despite the presence of native DIC concentrations that exceeded those of added formate by 2 to 3 orders of magnitude. The concentration of added formate required to suppress DIC assimilation was similar to the affinity constant (K m ) for formate transformation, as determined by community kinetic assays. These results suggest that dominant chemoautotrophs in hightemperature communities are facultatively autotrophic or mixotrophic, are adapted to fluctuating nutrient availabilities, and are capable of taking advantage of energy-rich organic substrates when they become available.

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“…Cell-sediment separation Due to ongoing research projects at hot springs within Yellowstone National Park (Cox et al 2011;Havig et al 2011), we sought to determine cellular elemental ratios in samples from the area's diverse hot spring ecosystems. Field sediment samples were collected in July and August 2009 at hot springs with temperatures ranging from 20°C to boiling (~93°C).…”

Section: Application To Field Samplesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prokaryotic cells separated from sediments are suitable for elemental composition analysis

Neveu

Poret-Peterson

Lee

et al. 2014

Limnology & Ocean Methods

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Cell-sediment separation methods can potentially enable determination of the elemental composition of microbial communities by removing the sediment elemental contribution from bulk samples. We demonstrate that a separation method can be applied to determine the composition of prokaryotic cells. The method uses chemical and physical means to extract cells from benthic sediments and mats. Recovery yields were between 5% and 40%, as determined from cell counts. The method conserves cellular element contents to within 30% or better, as assessed by comparing C, N, P, Mg, Al, Ca, Ti, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, and Mo contents in Escherichia coli. Contamination by C, N, and P from chemicals used during the procedure was negligible. Na and K were not conserved, being likely exchanged through the cell membrane as cations during separation. V, Cr, and Co abundances could not be determined due to large (>100%) measurement uncertainties. We applied this method to measure elemental contents in extremophilic communities of Yellowstone National Park hot springs. The method was generally successful at separating cells from sediment, but does not discriminate between cells and detrital biological or noncellular material of similar density. This resulted in Al, Ti, Mn, and Fe contamination, which can be tracked using proxies such as metal:Al ratios. With these caveats, we present the first measurements, to our knowledge, of the elemental abundances of a chemosynthetic community. The communities have C:N ratios typical of aquatic microorganisms, are low in P, and their metal abundances vary between hot springs by orders of magnitude.

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The transition to microbial photosynthesis in hot spring ecosystems

Cited by 87 publications

References 57 publications

Sediment microbial communities in Great Boiling Spring are controlled by temperature and distinct from water communities

Sediment microbial communities in Great Boiling Spring are controlled by temperature and distinct from water communities

Carbon Source Preference in Chemosynthetic Hot Spring Communities

Prokaryotic cells separated from sediments are suitable for elemental composition analysis

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