Lipid analysis of CO₂-rich subsurface aquifers suggests an autotrophy-based deep biosphere with lysolipids enriched in CPR bacteria.

ABSTRACT: Sediment-hosted CO₂-rich aquifers deep below the Colorado Plateau (USA) contain a remarkable diversity of uncultivated microorganisms, including Candidate Phyla Radiation (CPR) bacteria that are putative symbionts unable to synthesize membrane lipids. The origin of organic carbon in these ecosystems is unknown and the source of CPR membrane lipids remains elusive. We collected cells from deep groundwater brought to the surface by eruptions of Crystal Geyser, sequenced the community, and analyzed the whole community lipidome over time. Characteristic stable carbon isotopic compositions of microbial lipids suggest that bacterial and archaeal CO₂ fixation ongoing in the deep subsurface provides organic carbon for the complex communities that reside there. Coupled lipidom

SUBMITTER: Probst AJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7242380 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature