A diverse uncultivated microbial community is responsible for organic matter degradation in the Black Sea sulphidic zone

Summary Organic matter degradation in marine environments is essential for the recycling of nutrients, especially under conditions of anoxia where organic matter tends to accumulate. However, little is known about the diversity of the microbial communities responsible for the mineralization of organ...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental microbiology 2021-06, Vol.23 (6), p.2709-2728
Main Authors: Suominen, Saara, Dombrowski, Nina, Sinninghe Damsté, Jaap S., Villanueva, Laura
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anoxia
Archaea - genetics
Bacteria - genetics
Biodegradation
Black Sea
Carbon cycle
Deoxyribonucleic acid
Dissolved organic matter
DNA
Environmental degradation
Genomes
Incubation period
Marine environment
Metagenome
Metagenomics
Microbial activity
Microbiomes
Microbiota
Microorganisms
Mineralization
Nutrients
Proteins
Special Issue
Stable isotopes
Sulfur
Sulphur
Water circulation
Water column
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Summary:Summary Organic matter degradation in marine environments is essential for the recycling of nutrients, especially under conditions of anoxia where organic matter tends to accumulate. However, little is known about the diversity of the microbial communities responsible for the mineralization of organic matter in the absence of oxygen, as well as the factors controlling their activities. Here, we determined the active heterotrophic prokaryotic community in the sulphidic water column of the Black Sea, an ideal model system, where a tight coupling between carbon, nitrogen and sulphur cycles is expected. Active microorganisms degrading both dissolved organic matter (DOM) and protein extracts were determined using quantitative DNA stable isotope probing incubation experiments. These results were compared with the metabolic potential of metagenome‐assembled genomes obtained from the water column. Organic matter incubations showed that groups like Cloacimonetes and Marinimicrobia are generalists degrading DOM. Based on metagenomic profiles the degradation proceeds in a potential interaction with members of the Deltaproteobacteria and Chloroflexi Dehalococcoidia. On the other hand, microbes with small genomes like the bacterial phyla Parcubacteria, Omnitrophica and of the archaeal phylum Woesearchaeota, were the most active, especially in protein‐amended incubations, revealing the potential advantage of streamlined microorganisms in highly reduced conditions.
ISSN:1462-2912
1462-2920
1462-2920
DOI:10.1111/1462-2920.14902