RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Metabolic Potential of Microbial Communities in the Hypersaline Sediments of the Bonneville Salt Flats
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2021.10.18.464844
DO 10.1101/2021.10.18.464844
A1 Julia M. McGonigle
A1 Jeremiah A. Bernau
A1 Brenda B. Bowen
A1 William J. Brazelton
YR 2021
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/10/19/2021.10.18.464844.abstract
AB The Bonneville Salt Flats (BSF) appear to be entirely desolate when viewed from above, but in reality they host rich microbial communities just below the surface salt crust. In this study, we investigate the metabolic potential of the BSF microbial ecosystem. The predicted and measured metabolic activities provide new insights into the ecosystem functions of evaporite landscapes and are an important analog for potential subsurface microbial ecosystems on ancient and modern Mars. Hypersaline and evaporite systems have been investigated previously as astrobiological analogs for Mars and other salty celestial bodies. Still, these studies have generally focused on aquatic systems and cultivation-dependent approaches. Here, we present an ecosystem-level examination of metabolic pathways within the shallow subsurface of evaporites. We detected aerobic and anaerobic respiration as well as methanogenesis in BSF sediments. Metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) of diverse bacteria and archaea encoded a remarkable diversity of metabolic pathways, including those associated with carbon fixation, carbon monoxide oxidation, acetogenesis, methanogenesis, sulfide oxidation, denitrification, and nitrogen fixation. These results demonstrate the potential for multiple energy sources and metabolic pathways in BSF and highlight the possibility for vibrant microbial ecosystems in the shallow subsurface of evaporites.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.