title: Defining the functional potential and active community members of a sediment microbial community in a high-arctic hypersaline subzero spring.
abstract: The Lost Hammer (LH) Spring is the coldest and saltiest terrestrial spring discovered to date and is characterized by perennial discharges at subzero temperatures (-5°C), hypersalinity (salinity, 24%), and reducing (≈-165 mV), microoxic, and oligotrophic conditions. It is rich in sulfates (10.0%, wt/wt), dissolved H2S/sulfides (up to 25 ppm), ammonia (≈381 μM), and methane (11.1 g day(-1)). To determine its total functional and genetic potential and to identify its active microbial components, we performed metagenomic analyses of the LH Spring outlet microbial community and pyrosequencing analyses of the cDNA of its 16S rRNA genes. Reads related to Cyanobacteria (19.7%), Bacteroidetes (13.3%), and Proteobacteria (6.6%) represented the dominant phyla identified among the classified sequences. Reconstruction of the enzyme pathways responsible for bacterial nitrification/denitrification/ammonification and sulfate reduction appeared nearly complete in the metagenomic data set. In the cDNA profile of the LH Spring active community, ammonia oxidizers (Thaumarchaeota), denitrifiers (Pseudomonas spp.), sulfate reducers (Desulfobulbus spp.), and other sulfur oxidizers (Thermoprotei) were present, highlighting their involvement in nitrogen and sulfur cycling. Stress response genes for adapting to cold, osmotic stress, and oxidative stress were also abundant in the metagenome. Comparison of the composition of the functional community of the LH Spring to metagenomes from other saline/subzero environments revealed a close association between the LH Spring and another Canadian high-Arctic permafrost environment, particularly in genes related to sulfur metabolism and dormancy. Overall, this study provides insights into the metabolic potential and the active microbial populations that exist in this hypersaline cryoenvironment and contributes to our understanding of microbial ecology in extreme environments.
authors.affiliation: Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Ste. Anne de Bellevue, Canada.
authors.forename: Chih-Ying
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Lay
authors.forename: Nadia C S
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Mykytczuk
authors.forename: Étienne
authors.initials: É
authors.lastname: Yergeau
authors.forename: Guillaume
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lamarche-Gagnon
authors.forename: Charles W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Greer
authors.forename: Lyle G
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Whyte
mesh_terms: D001105:Archaea / Q000235:genetics; D001110:Arctic Regions; D041963:Bacteroidetes / Q000235:genetics; D001483:Base Sequence; D003080:Cold Temperature; D000458:Cyanobacteria / Q000235:genetics; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000235:genetics; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000382:microbiology*; D054892:Metagenome / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D060985:Natural Springs / Q000382:microbiology*; D020560:Proteobacteria / Q000235:genetics; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D054712:Salinity; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
references.citation: FEMS Microbiol Rev. 2009 Mar;33(2):258-78
references.pmid: 18834454
references.citation: ISME J. 2010 Sep;4(9):1206-14
references.pmid: 20393573
references.citation: J Biochem. 2004 Oct;136(4):541-7
references.pmid: 15625325
references.citation: Nat Rev Microbiol. 2010 Feb;8(2):129-38
references.pmid: 20075927
references.citation: Int J Syst Evol Microbiol. 2009 Nov;59(Pt 11):2666-9
references.pmid: 19625416
references.citation: Nature. 2011 Jun 22;474(7353):620-2
references.pmid: 21697830
references.citation: PLoS Comput Biol. 2012;8(6):e1002541
references.pmid: 22685393
references.citation: Photosynth Res. 1992 Apr;32(1):45-57
references.pmid: 24408154
references.citation: Int J Syst Bacteriol. 1997 Jul;47(3):657-60
references.pmid: 9226896
references.citation: Eur J Biochem. 1992 Apr 15;205(2):853-66
references.pmid: 1572376
references.citation: Adv Space Res. 2004;33(8):1215-21
references.pmid: 15806703
references.citation: Appl Environ Microbiol. 2012 Jan;78(2):549-59
references.pmid: 22081564
references.citation: Bioessays. 1998 Jan;20(1):49-57
references.pmid: 9504047
references.citation: Trends Biochem Sci. 1999 May;24(5):192-8
references.pmid: 10322435
references.citation: Science. 2009 Jul 3;325(5936):64-7
references.pmid: 19574385
references.citation: Environ Microbiol. 2008 Dec;10(12):3388-403
references.pmid: 19025556
references.citation: ISME J. 2012 Jan;6(1):11-20
references.pmid: 21716307
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012 Dec 11;109(50):20626-31
references.pmid: 23185006
references.citation: Extremophiles. 2000 Dec;4(6):321-31
references.pmid: 11139074
references.citation: Microbiol Mol Biol Rev. 2000 Sep;64(3):548-72
references.pmid: 10974126
references.citation: FEMS Microbiol Lett. 2000 May 1;186(1):11-9
references.pmid: 10779706
references.citation: Environ Microbiol. 2010 Oct;12(10):2658-76
references.pmid: 20482592
references.citation: Astrobiology. 2003 Fall;3(3):583-96
references.pmid: 14678667
references.citation: FEMS Microbiol Ecol. 2009 Jan;67(1):30-42
references.pmid: 19120457
references.citation: Microb Ecol. 2012 May;63(4):726-35
references.pmid: 22006549
references.citation: BMC Bioinformatics. 2008 Sep 19;9:386
references.pmid: 18803844
references.citation: Extremophiles. 2012 Mar;16(2):177-91
references.pmid: 22246205
references.citation: Nat Rev Microbiol. 2003 Dec;1(3):200-8
references.pmid: 15035024
references.citation: Geobiology. 2011 Jul;9(4):360-75
references.pmid: 21592302
references.citation: Appl Environ Microbiol. 2006 Sep;72(9):6257-70
references.pmid: 16957253
references.citation: J Bacteriol. 2002 May;184(9):2333-43
references.pmid: 11948145
references.citation: Microbiology (Reading). 2004 Jun;150(Pt 6):1649-1659
references.pmid: 15184551
references.citation: Science. 2005 Mar 11;307(5715):1587-91
references.pmid: 15718429
references.citation: J Bacteriol. 1999 Sep;181(18):5557-62
references.pmid: 10482494
references.citation: Environ Microbiol. 2010 Feb;12(2):422-39
references.pmid: 19878267
references.citation: Microb Ecol. 2004 Jan;47(1):30-40
references.pmid: 15259267
references.citation: ISME J. 2010 Aug;4(8):1002-19
references.pmid: 20237513
references.citation: Int J Syst Evol Microbiol. 2002 Jul;52(Pt 4):1097-104
references.pmid: 12148613
references.citation: FEMS Microbiol Rev. 2002 Mar;26(1):49-71
references.pmid: 12007642
references.citation: Appl Environ Microbiol. 2001 Sep;67(9):4365-71
references.pmid: 11526049
references.citation: ISME J. 2009 Dec;3(12):1420-4
references.pmid: 19571895
references.citation: Mol Biol Evol. 2011 Oct;28(10):2731-9
references.pmid: 21546353
references.citation: Nature. 1996 May 9;381(6578):169-72
references.pmid: 8610017
references.citation: Mol Endocrinol. 2010 Feb;24(2):391-401
references.pmid: 20032196
references.citation: Environ Microbiol. 2011 Aug;13(8):1908-23
references.pmid: 21054738
references.citation: Nat Rev Microbiol. 2008 Mar;6(3):245-52
references.pmid: 18274537
references.citation: J Microbiol Biotechnol. 2010 Nov;20(11):1506-12
references.pmid: 21124054
references.citation: Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek. 1997 Feb;71(1-2):95-107
references.pmid: 9049021
references.citation: Eur J Biochem. 2004 Apr;271(7):1372-81
references.pmid: 15030488
references.citation: Science. 2009 Feb 20;323(5917):1041-5
references.pmid: 19150811
references.citation: Appl Environ Microbiol. 2007 Mar;73(5):1532-43
references.pmid: 17220254
references.citation: J Mol Microbiol Biotechnol. 1999 Nov;1(2):193-202
references.pmid: 10943550
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011 Dec 13;108(50):19913-8
references.pmid: 22123983
references.citation: Appl Environ Microbiol. 2008 Mar;74(6):1677-86
references.pmid: 18203855
references.citation: J Bacteriol. 1993 Mar;175(5):1284-92
references.pmid: 8444791
references.citation: Appl Environ Microbiol. 2008 Nov;74(22):6898-907
references.pmid: 18805995
references.citation: Nature. 2011 Nov 06;480(7377):368-71
references.pmid: 22056985
references.citation: Science. 2006 Dec 8;314(5805):1573-7
references.pmid: 17158321
references.citation: J Bacteriol. 2006 Jan;188(1):240-8
references.pmid: 16352840
references.citation: J Bacteriol. 1996 Dec;178(23):6895-903
references.pmid: 8955312
references.citation: Appl Environ Microbiol. 2006 Sep;72(9):6299-315
references.pmid: 16957257
references.citation: Infect Immun. 2010 Apr;78(4):1509-19
references.pmid: 20145094
references.citation: Astrobiology. 2011 Sep;11(7):665-78
references.pmid: 21899440
references.citation: Genome Res. 2002 Apr;12(4):656-64
references.pmid: 11932250
references.citation: Genome Res. 2011 Sep;21(9):1552-60
references.pmid: 21690186
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1996 Jan 9;93(1):76-80
references.pmid: 8552679
references.citation: PLoS One. 2010 Oct 21;5(10):e13530
references.pmid: 20975831
references.citation: ISME J. 2010 Oct;4(10):1326-39
references.pmid: 20445635
references.citation: Nucleic Acids Res. 1997 Sep 1;25(17):3389-402
references.pmid: 9254694
references.citation: ISME J. 2011 May;5(5):879-95
references.pmid: 21124488
references.citation: Nucleic Acids Res. 2009 Jan;37(Database issue):D141-5
references.pmid: 19004872
references.citation: Nature. 2012 May 30;486(7401):93-6
references.pmid: 22678286
references.citation: ISME J. 2012 Apr;6(4):863-74
references.pmid: 22011721
references.citation: J Microbiol Methods. 2007 Dec;71(3):275-80
references.pmid: 17942178
references.citation: FEMS Microbiol Ecol. 2011 May;76(2):301-10
references.pmid: 21261668
references.citation: J Microbiol Methods. 2003 Dec;55(3):541-55
references.pmid: 14607398
references.citation: Microb Ecol. 2011 Nov;62(4):824-37
references.pmid: 21735153
references.citation: Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 2009 Jan;81(5):927-41
references.pmid: 18815783
references.citation: Mikrobiologiia. 2005 May-Jun;74(3):410-9
references.pmid: 16119856
references.citation: Science. 2011 Aug 5;333(6043):740-3
references.pmid: 21817049
references.citation: Astrobiology. 2008 Dec;8(6):1093-1112
references.pmid: 19093802
references.citation: ISME J. 2011 Mar;5(3):414-26
references.pmid: 20927138
references.citation: PLoS One. 2009;4(2):e4344
references.pmid: 19183815
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010 Mar 30;107(13):5881-6
references.pmid: 20231463