Dataset Information

Community structure and activity potentials of archaeal communities in hadal sediments of the Mariana and Mussau trenches.

ABSTRACT: Hadal trenches are the least explored marine habitat on earth. Archaea has been shown to be the dominant group in trench sediments. However, the activity potentials and detailed diversity of these communities as well as their inter-trench variations are still not known. In this study, we combined datasets from two pairs of primers to investigate at high resolution the structure and activity potentials of the archaeal communities in vertically sectioned sediment cores taken from the deepest points of the Mariana (10,853 m) and Mussau (7011 m) trenches. The compositions of the potentially active communities revealed, via 16S ribosomal RNA gene (rDNA) and RNA (rRNA), significant differences between samples. Marine Group I (MGI), with nine identified subgroups, was the most dominant class in the active archaeal communities of the two trenches. Significantly different species composition and vertical variations were observed between the two trenches. Vertical transitions from aerobic MGI α to anaerobic MGI η and υ subgroups were observed in MST but not in MT sediments, which might be related to the faster microbial oxygen consumption in MST. These results provide a better understanding on archaeal activity and diversity in trench sediments.

Supplementary information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42995-021-00105-y.

SUBMITTER: Wang Z

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10077302 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Community structure and activity potentials of archaeal communities in hadal sediments of the Mariana and Mussau trenches.

Wang Zixuan Z Wang Li L Liu Rulong R Li Zhenzhen Z Wu JiaXin J Wei Xing X Wei Wenxia W Fang Jiasong J Cao Junwei J Wei Yuli Y Xie Zhe Z

Marine life science & technology 20210719 1

Hadal trenches are the least explored marine habitat on earth. Archaea has been shown to be the dominant group in trench sediments. However, the activity potentials and detailed diversity of these communities as well as their inter-trench variations are still not known. In this study, we combined datasets from two pairs of primers to investigate at high resolution the structure and activity potentials of the archaeal communities in vertically sectioned sediment cores taken from the deepest point ...[more]

PMID: 37073355

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Project description:Surprisingly high rates of microbial respiration have recently been reported in hadal trench sediment, yet the potentially active microorganisms and specific microbe-microbe relationships in trench sediment are largely unknown. We investigated the bulk and active prokaryotic communities and co-occurrence interactions of different lineages in vertically sectioned sediment cores taken from the deepest points of the Mariana and Mussau Trenches. Analysis on species novelty revealed for the first time the high rate of novel lineages in the microbial communities of the hadal trenches. Using 95, 97, and 99% similarity as thresholds, averagely 22.29, 32.3, and 64.1% of total OTUs retrieved from sediments of the two trenches were identified as the potentially novel lineages, respectively. The compositions of the potentially active communities, revealed via ribosomal RNA (rRNA), were significantly different from those of bulk communities (rDNA) in all samples from both trenches. The dominant taxa in bulk communities generally accounted for low proportions in the rRNA libraries, signifying that the abundance was not necessarily related to community functions in the hadal sediments. The potentially active communities showed high diversity and composed primarily of heterotrophic lineages, supporting their potential contributions in organic carbon consumption. Network analysis revealed high modularity and non-random co-occurrence of phylogenetically unrelated taxa, indicating highly specified micro-niches and close microbial interactions in the hadal sediments tested. Combined analysis of activity potentials and network keystone scores revealed significance of phyla Chloroflexi and Gemmatimonadetes, as well as several potentially alkane-degrading taxa in maintaining microbial interactions and functions of the trench communities. Overall, our results demonstrate that the hadal trenches harbor diverse, closely interacting, and active microorganisms, despite the extreme environmental conditions.

Project description:The unique geological features of hadal trenches are known to influence both the structure and ecological function of microbial communities. It is also well known that heterotrophs and chemoautotrophs dominate the hadal and abyssal pelagic zones, respectively. Here, a metagenomic investigation was conducted on sediment samples obtained from the abyssal-hadal transition zone in the Mariana Trench to gain a better understanding of the general diversity and potential function of the core microbiome in this zone. A high level of cosmopolitanism existed in the core microbiome referred from a high community similarity among different stations. Niche differentiation along the fine-scale of different sediment layers was observed, especially for major archaeal groups, largely due to sediment depth and the source of organic matter. A prevalence of nitrogen biogeochemical cycles driven by various nitrifying groups with the capability of dark carbon fixation in the abyssal-hadal biosphere was also demonstrated. The predominance of heterotrophic over chemolithoautotrophic pathways in this transition zone was found, and a high abundance of genes related to respiration and carbon fixation (i.e., the intact Calvin and rTCA cycles) were detected as well, which might reflect the intensive microbial activities known to occur in this deep biosphere. The presence of those metabolic processes and associated microbes were reflected by functional and genetic markers generated from the metagenomic data in the current study. However, their roles and contributions to the nitrogen/carbon biogeochemical cycles and flux in the abyssal-hadal transition zone still need further analysis. IMPORTANCE The Mariana Trench is the deepest oceanic region on earth, its microbial ecological exploration has become feasible with the rapid progress of submersible and metagenomic sequencing. We investigated the community compositions and metabolic functions of the core microbiome along the abyssal-hadal transition zone of the Mariana Trench, although most studies by far were focused on the pelagic zone. We found a predominance of heterotrophic groups and related metabolic pathways, which were closely associated with nitrogen biogeochemical cycles driven by various nitrifying groups with the capability of dark carbon fixation.

Dataset Information

Community structure and activity potentials of archaeal communities in hadal sediments of the Mariana and Mussau trenches.

Supplementary information

Publications

Community structure and activity potentials of archaeal communities in hadal sediments of the Mariana and Mussau trenches.

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