Thousands of microbial genomes shed light on interconnected biogeochemical processes in an aquifer system

Karthik Anantharaman, Christopher T. Brown, Laura A. Hug, Itai Sharon, Cindy J. Castelle, Alexander J. Probst, Brian C. Thomas, Andrea Singh, Michael J. Wilkins, Ulas Karaoz, Eoin L. Brodie, Kenneth H. Williams, Susan S. Hubbard and Jillian F. Banfield ()
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Karthik Anantharaman: University of California
Christopher T. Brown: University of California
Laura A. Hug: University of California
Itai Sharon: University of California
Cindy J. Castelle: University of California
Alexander J. Probst: University of California
Brian C. Thomas: University of California
Andrea Singh: University of California
Michael J. Wilkins: The Ohio State University
Ulas Karaoz: Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Eoin L. Brodie: Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Kenneth H. Williams: Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Susan S. Hubbard: Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Jillian F. Banfield: University of California

Nature Communications, 2016, vol. 7, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract The subterranean world hosts up to one-fifth of all biomass, including microbial communities that drive transformations central to Earth’s biogeochemical cycles. However, little is known about how complex microbial communities in such environments are structured, and how inter-organism interactions shape ecosystem function. Here we apply terabase-scale cultivation-independent metagenomics to aquifer sediments and groundwater, and reconstruct 2,540 draft-quality, near-complete and complete strain-resolved genomes that represent the majority of known bacterial phyla as well as 47 newly discovered phylum-level lineages. Metabolic analyses spanning this vast phylogenetic diversity and representing up to 36% of organisms detected in the system are used to document the distribution of pathways in coexisting organisms. Consistent with prior findings indicating metabolic handoffs in simple consortia, we find that few organisms within the community can conduct multiple sequential redox transformations. As environmental conditions change, different assemblages of organisms are selected for, altering linkages among the major biogeochemical cycles.

Date: 2016
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:7:y:2016:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms13219

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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms13219

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