title: Genomic and Transcriptomic Evidence for Carbohydrate Consumption among Microorganisms in a Cold Seep Brine Pool.
abstract: The detailed lifestyle of microorganisms in deep-sea brine environments remains largely unexplored. Using a carefully calibrated genome binning approach, we reconstructed partial to nearly-complete genomes of 51 microorganisms in biofilms from the Thuwal cold seep brine pool of the Red Sea. The recovered metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) belong to six different phyla: Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria,CandidatusCloacimonetes,CandidatusMarinimicrobia, Bathyarchaeota, and Thaumarchaeota. By comparison with close relatives of these microorganisms, we identified a number of unique genes associated with organic carbon metabolism and energy generation. These genes included various glycoside hydrolases, nitrate and sulfate reductases, putative bacterial microcompartment biosynthetic clusters (BMC), and F420H2dehydrogenases. Phylogenetic analysis suggested that the acquisition of these genes probably occurred through horizontal gene transfer (HGT). Metatranscriptomics illustrated that glycoside hydrolases are among the most highly expressed genes. Our results suggest that the microbial inhabitants are well adapted to this brine environment, and anaerobic carbohydrate consumption mediated by glycoside hydrolases and electron transport systems (ETSs) is a dominant process performed by microorganisms from various phyla within this ecosystem.
authors.affiliation: Division of Life Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Weipeng
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Division of Life Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.affiliation: Division of Life Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Division of Life Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Renmao
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.affiliation: Division of Life Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Shuo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.affiliation: Simon F. S. Li Marine Science Laboratory, School of Life Sciences, Chinese University of Hong Kong Shatin, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Haiwei
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: Division of Life Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Pei-Yuan
authors.initials: PY
authors.lastname: Qian
keywords: biofilm; brine pool; carbon metabolism; microbial genomics; transcriptomics