Diversité phylogénétique et fonctionnelle des communautés microbiennes incultivées des sédiments marins de la marge de Sonora, Bassin de Guaymas (Golfe de Californie)

At continental margins, and more particularly in cold seep areas, microbial and animal communities were locally detected at the surface of the sediments. These communities grow using reduced chemical compounds (H2S, Methane, COZ ...) contained in the percolated cold fluids and produced by both geological and microbial processes. ln order to study microbial community diversity in these ecosystems and their role in the environment as well as to understand the environmental factors influencing the distribution and ecophysiology of these communities, surface (0-20 cmbsf) but also deeper (<9 mbsf) sediments were collected at the Sonora Margin. Microbial communities have been studied using various molecular, cultural and microscopy approaches. This research allowed: i) to determine the structure and diversity of metabolically active microbial communities in sediments, ii) to highlight different ecophysiologies for methane cycling microorganisms (methanogens, ANME, SRB) and iii) to discover the presence of new microbial lineages and functions in the cold seeps sediments of the continental margins.Au niveau des marges continentales, et plus particulièrement dans des zones dites d'émissions de fluides froids, des communautés microbiennes et animales complexes se développent localement à la surface des sédiments. Ces communautés utilisent pour leur croissance des composés chimiques réduits (H2S, Méthane, CO2 ...), contenus dans un fluide à basse température, percolant à travers les sédiments et issus de phénomènes géologiques et de divers processus microbiens. Afin d'étudier la diversité des communautés microbiennes associées à ces écosystèmes ainsi que leur rôle dans l'environnement, et d'appréhender les paramètres environnementaux influençant la distribution et l'écophysiologie de ces communautés, des sédiments de surface (0-20 cm) mais également plus profonds (<9 mbsf) ont été prélevés au niveau de la Marge de Sonora. Les communautés microbiennes présentes ont été étudiées par diverses approches de biologie moléculaire, de mise en culture et de microscopie. Ce travail de recherche a permis : i) de déterminer la structure et la diversité des communautés microbiennes métaboliquement actives dans ces sédiments, ii) de mettre en évidence des écophysiologies différentes entre les acteurs du cycle du méthane (méthanogènes, ANMEs, SRB), prépondérant dans cet écosystème et iii) de découvrir la présence de nouvelles lignées et fonctions microbiennes dans les sédiments de zones d'émission de fluides froids des marges continentales

Genomic evidence of functional diversity in DPANN archaea, from oxic species to anoxic vampiristic consortia

DPANN archaea account for half of the archaeal diversity of the biosphere, but with few cultivated representatives, their metabolic potential and environmental functions are poorly understood. The extreme geochemical and environmental conditions in meromictic ice-capped Lake A, in the Canadian High Arctic, provided an isolated, stratified model ecosystem to resolve the distribution and metabolism of uncultured aquatic DPANN archaea living across extreme redox and salinity gradients, from freshwater oxygenated conditions, to saline, anoxic, sulfidic waters. We recovered 28 metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) of DPANN archaea that provided genetic insights into their ecological function. Thiosulfate oxidation potential was detected in aerobic Woesearchaeota, whereas diverse metabolic functions were identified in anaerobic DPANN archaea, including degradation and fermentation of cellular compounds, and sulfide and polysulfide reduction. We also found evidence for “vampiristic” metabolism in several MAGs, with genes coding for pore-forming toxins, peptidoglycan degradation, and RNA scavenging. The vampiristic MAGs co-occurred with other DPANNs having complementary metabolic capacities, leading to the possibility that DPANN form interspecific consortia that recycle microbial carbon, nutrients and complex molecules through a DPANN archaeal shunt, adding hidden novel complexity to anaerobic microbial food webs

Genomic evidence for sulfur intermediates as new biogeochemical hubs in a model aquatic microbial ecosystem

Background: The sulfur cycle encompasses a series of complex aerobic and anaerobic transformations of S-containing molecules and plays a fundamental role in cellular and ecosystem-level processes, influencing biological carbon transfers and other biogeochemical cycles. Despite their importance, the microbial communities and metabolic pathways involved in these transformations remain poorly understood, especially for inorganic sulfur compounds of intermediate oxidation states (thiosulfate, tetrathionate, sulfite, polysulfides). Isolated and highly stratified, the extreme geochemical and environmental features of meromictic ice-capped Lake A, in the Canadian High Arctic, provided an ideal model ecosystem to resolve the distribution and metabolism of aquatic sulfur cycling microorganisms along redox and salinity gradients. Results: Applying complementary molecular approaches, we identified sharply contrasting microbial communities and metabolic potentials among the markedly distinct water layers of Lake A, with similarities to diverse fresh, brackish and saline water microbiomes. Sulfur cycling genes were abundant at all depths and covaried with bacterial abundance. Genes for oxidative processes occurred in samples from the oxic freshwater layers, reductive reactions in the anoxic and sulfidic bottom waters and genes for both transformations at the chemocline. Up to 154 different genomic bins with potential for sulfur transformation were recovered, revealing a panoply of taxonomically diverse microorganisms with complex metabolic pathways for biogeochemical sulfur reactions. Genes for the utilization of sulfur cycle intermediates were widespread throughout the water column, co-occurring with sulfate reduction or sulfide oxidation pathways. The genomic bin composition suggested that in addition to chemical oxidation, these intermediate sulfur compounds were likely produced by the predominant sulfur chemo- and photo-oxidisers at the chemocline and by diverse microbial degraders of organic sulfur molecules. Conclusions: The Lake A microbial ecosystem provided an ideal opportunity to identify new features of the biogeochemical sulfur cycle. Our detailed metagenomic analyses across the broad physico-chemical gradients of this permanently stratified lake extend the known diversity of microorganisms involved in sulfur transformations over a wide range of environmental conditions. The results indicate that sulfur cycle intermediates and organic sulfur molecules are major sources of electron donors and acceptors for aquatic and sedimentary microbial communities in association with the classical sulfur cycl

A consensus protocol for the recovery of mercury methylation genes from metagenomes

Mercury (Hg) methylation genes (hgcAB) mediate the formation of the toxic methylmercury and have been identified from diverse environments, including freshwater and marine ecosystems, Arctic permafrost, forest and paddy soils, coal-ash amended sediments, chlor-alkali plants discharges and geothermal springs. Here we present the first attempt at a standardized protocol for the detection, identification and quantification of hgc genes from metagenomes. Our Hg-cycling microorganisms in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems (Hg-MATE) database, a catalogue of hgc genes, provides the most accurate information to date on the taxonomic identity and functional/metabolic attributes of microorganisms responsible for Hg methylation in the environment. Furthermore, we introduce "marky-coco", a ready-to-use bioinformatic pipeline based on de novo single-metagenome assembly, for easy and accurate characterization of hgc genes from environmental samples. We compared the recovery of hgc genes from environmental metagenomes using the marky-coco pipeline with an approach based on coassembly of multiple metagenomes. Our data show similar efficiency in both approaches for most environments except those with high diversity (i.e., paddy soils) for which a coassembly approach was preferred. Finally, we discuss the definition of true hgc genes and methods to normalize hgc gene counts from metagenomes

Critically Ill Patients with Visceral Nocardia Infection, France and Belgium, 2004-2023.

peer reviewedWe studied 50 patients with invasive nocardiosis treated during 2004-2023 in intensive care centers in France and Belgium. Most (65%) died in the intensive care unit or in the year after admission. Nocardia infections should be included in the differential diagnoses for patients in the intensive care setting

Phylogenic and functional diversity of uncultured microbial communities from the Sonora Margin cold seep sediments, Guaymas Basin (Gulf of California)

At continental margins, and more particularly in cold seep areas, microbial and animal communities were locally detected at the surface of the sediments. These communities grow using reduced chemical compounds (H2S, Methane, COZ ...) contained in the percolated cold fluids and produced by both geological and microbial processes. ln order to study microbial community diversity in these ecosystems and their role in the environment as well as to understand the environmental factors influencing the distribution and ecophysiology of these communities, surface (0-20 cmbsf) but also deeper (<9 mbsf) sediments were collected at the Sonora Margin. Microbial communities have been studied using various molecular, cultural and microscopy approaches. This research allowed: i) to determine the structure and diversity of metabolically active microbial communities in sediments, ii) to highlight different ecophysiologies for methane cycling microorganisms (methanogens, ANME, SRB) and iii) to discover the presence of new microbial lineages and functions in the cold seeps sediments of the continental margins.Au niveau des marges continentales, et plus particulièrement dans des zones dites d'émissions de fluides froids, des communautés microbiennes et animales complexes se développent localement à la surface des sédiments. Ces communautés utilisent pour leur croissance des composés chimiques réduits (H2S, Méthane, CO2 ...), contenus dans un fluide à basse température, percolant à travers les sédiments et issus de phénomènes géologiques et de divers processus microbiens. Afin d'étudier la diversité des communautés microbiennes associées à ces écosystèmes ainsi que leur rôle dans l'environnement, et d'appréhender les paramètres environnementaux influençant la distribution et l'écophysiologie de ces communautés, des sédiments de surface (0-20 cm) mais également plus profonds (<9 mbsf) ont été prélevés au niveau de la Marge de Sonora. Les communautés microbiennes présentes ont été étudiées par diverses approches de biologie moléculaire, de mise en culture et de microscopie. Ce travail de recherche a permis : i) de déterminer la structure et la diversité des communautés microbiennes métaboliquement actives dans ces sédiments, ii) de mettre en évidence des écophysiologies différentes entre les acteurs du cycle du méthane (méthanogènes, ANMEs, SRB), prépondérant dans cet écosystème et iii) de découvrir la présence de nouvelles lignées et fonctions microbiennes dans les sédiments de zones d'émission de fluides froids des marges continentales

Phylogenic and functional diversity of uncultured microbial communities from the Sonora Margin cold seep sediments, Guaymas Basin (Gulf of California)

Au niveau des marges continentales, et plus particulièrement dans des zones dites d'émissions de fluides froids, des communautés microbiennes et animales complexes se développent localement à la surface des sédiments. Ces communautés utilisent pour leur croissance des composés chimiques réduits (H2S, Méthane, CO2 ...), contenus dans un fluide à basse température, percolant à travers les sédiments et issus de phénomènes géologiques et de divers processus microbiens. Afin d'étudier la diversité des communautés microbiennes associées à ces écosystèmes ainsi que leur rôle dans l'environnement, et d'appréhender les paramètres environnementaux influençant la distribution et l'écophysiologie de ces communautés, des sédiments de surface (0-20 cm) mais également plus profonds (<9 mbsf) ont été prélevés au niveau de la Marge de Sonora. Les communautés microbiennes présentes ont été étudiées par diverses approches de biologie moléculaire, de mise en culture et de microscopie. Ce travail de recherche a permis : i) de déterminer la structure et la diversité des communautés microbiennes métaboliquement actives dans ces sédiments, ii) de mettre en évidence des écophysiologies différentes entre les acteurs du cycle du méthane (méthanogènes, ANMEs, SRB), prépondérant dans cet écosystème et iii) de découvrir la présence de nouvelles lignées et fonctions microbiennes dans les sédiments de zones d'émission de fluides froids des marges continentales.At continental margins, and more particularly in cold seep areas, microbial and animal communities were locally detected at the surface of the sediments. These communities grow using reduced chemical compounds (H2S, Methane, COZ ...) contained in the percolated cold fluids and produced by both geological and microbial processes. ln order to study microbial community diversity in these ecosystems and their role in the environment as well as to understand the environmental factors influencing the distribution and ecophysiology of these communities, surface (0-20 cmbsf) but also deeper (<9 mbsf) sediments were collected at the Sonora Margin. Microbial communities have been studied using various molecular, cultural and microscopy approaches. This research allowed: i) to determine the structure and diversity of metabolically active microbial communities in sediments, ii) to highlight different ecophysiologies for methane cycling microorganisms (methanogens, ANME, SRB) and iii) to discover the presence of new microbial lineages and functions in the cold seeps sediments of the continental margins