Time series metagenomic sampling of the Thermopyles, Greece, geothermal springs reveals stable microbial communities dominated by novel sulfur‐oxidizing chemoautotrophs

Summary Geothermal springs are essentially unaffected by environmental conditions aboveground as they are continuously supplied with subsurface water with little variability in chemistry. Therefore, changes in their microbial community composition and function, especially over a long period, are exp...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental microbiology 2021-07, Vol.23 (7), p.3710-3726
Main Authors: Meziti, A., Nikouli, E., Hatt, J. K., Konstantinidis, K. T., Kormas, K. A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Carbon fixation
Community composition
Community structure
Environmental conditions
Genera
Genomes
Geothermal springs
Metagenomics
Microbial activity
Microbiomes
Microorganisms
Oxidation
rRNA 16S
Seasonal variations
Sequences
Stability
Structural stability
Subsurface water
Sulfur
Sulphides
Sulphur
Terrestrial environments
Water analysis
Water sampling
Water springs
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Summary:Summary Geothermal springs are essentially unaffected by environmental conditions aboveground as they are continuously supplied with subsurface water with little variability in chemistry. Therefore, changes in their microbial community composition and function, especially over a long period, are expected to be limited but this assumption has not yet been rigorously tested. Toward closing this knowledge gap, we applied whole metagenome sequencing to 17 water samples collected between 2010 and 2016 from the Thermopyles sulfur‐rich geothermal springs in central Greece. As revealed by 16S rRNA gene fragments recovered in the metagenomes, Epsilonproteobacteria‐related operational taxonomic units (OTUs) dominated most samples and grouping of samples based on OTU abundances exhibited no apparent seasonal pattern. Similarities between samples regarding functional gene content were high, with all samples sharing >70% similarity in functional pathways. These community‐wide patterns were further confirmed by analysis of metagenome‐assembled genomes (MAGs), which showed that novel species and genera of the chemoautotrophic Campylobacterales order dominated the springs. These MAGs carried different pathways for thiosulfate or sulfide oxidation coupled to carbon fixation pathways. Overall, our study showed that even in the long term, functions of microbial communities in a moderately hot terrestrial spring remain stable, presumably driving the corresponding stability in community structure.
ISSN:1462-2912
1462-2920
DOI:10.1111/1462-2920.15373