27 research outputs found

    Primary productivity below the seafloor at deep-sea hot springs

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    © The Author(s), 2018. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.of the United States of America 115 (2018): 6756–6761, doi:10.1073/pnas.1804351115.The existence of a chemosynthetic subseafloor biosphere was immediately recognized when deep-sea hot springs were discovered in 1977. However, quantifying how much new carbon is fixed in this environment has remained elusive. In this study, we incubated natural subseafloor communities under in situ pressure/temperature and measured their chemosynthetic growth efficiency and metabolic rates. Combining these data with fluid flux and in situ chemical measurements, we derived empirical constraints on chemosynthetic activity in the natural environment. Our study shows subseafloor microorganisms are highly productive (up to 1.4 Tg C produced yearly), fast-growing (turning over every 17–41 hours), and physiologically diverse. These estimates place deep-sea hot springs in a quantitative framework and allow us to assess their importance for global biogeochemical cycles.This research was funded by a grant of the Dimensions of Biodiversity program of the US National Science Foundation (NSF-OCE-1136727 to S.M.S. and J.S.S.). Funding for J.M. was further provided by doctoral fellowships from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (PGSD3-430487-2013, PGSM-405117-2011) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Earth Systems Science Fellowship (PLANET14F-0075), an award from the Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society, and the WHOI Academic Programs Office

    Efficient carbon and nitrogen transfer from marine diatom aggregates to colonizing bacterial groups

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    Bacterial degradation of sinking diatom aggregates is key for the availability of organic matter in the deep-ocean. Yet, little is known about the impact of aggregate colonization by different bacterial taxa on organic carbon and nutrient cycling within aggregates. Here, we tracked the carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) transfer from the diatom Leptocylindrus danicus to different environmental bacterial groups using a combination of C-13 and N-15 isotope incubation (incubated for 72 h), CARD-FISH and nanoSIMS single-cell analysis. Pseudoalteromonas bacterial group was the first colonizing diatom-aggregates, succeeded by the Alteromonas group. Within aggregates, diatom-attached bacteria were considerably more enriched in C-13 and N-15 than non-attached bacteria. Isotopic mass balance budget indicates that both groups showed comparable levels of diatom C in their biomass, accounting for 19 +/- 7% and 15 +/- 11%, respectively. In contrast to C, bacteria of the Alteromonas groups showed significantly higher levels of N derived from diatoms (77 +/- 28%) than Pseudoalteromonas (47 +/- 17%), suggesting a competitive advantage for Alteromonas in the N-limiting environments of the deep-sea. Our results imply that bacterial succession within diatom aggregates may largely impact taxa-specific C and N uptake, which may have important consequences for the quantity and quality of organic matter exported to the deep ocean

    Cytoklepty in the plankton: A host strategy to optimize the bioenergetic machinery of endosymbiotic algae

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    Endosymbioses have shaped the evolutionary trajectory of life and remain ecologically important. Investigating oceanic photosymbioses can illuminate how algal endosymbionts are energetically exploited by their heterotrophic hosts and inform on putative initial steps of plastid acquisition in eukaryotes. By combining three-dimensional subcellular imaging with photophysiology, carbon flux imaging, and transcriptomics, we show that cell division of endosymbionts (Phaeocystis) is blocked within hosts (Acantharia) and that their cellular architecture and bioenergetic machinery are radically altered. Transcriptional evidence indicates that a nutrient-independent mechanism prevents symbiont cell division and decouples nuclear and plastid division. As endosymbiont plastids proliferate, the volume of the photosynthetic machinery volume increases 100-fold in correlation with the expansion of a reticular mitochondrial network in close proximity to plastids. Photosynthetic efficiency tends to increase with cell size, and photon propagation modeling indicates that the networked mitochondrial architecture enhances light capture. This is accompanied by 150-fold higher carbon uptake and up-regulation of genes involved in photosynthesis and carbon fixation, which, in conjunction with a ca.15-fold size increase of pyrenoids demonstrates enhanced primary production in symbiosis. Mass spectrometry imaging revealed major carbon allocation to plastids and transfer to the host cell. As in most photosymbioses, microalgae are contained within a host phagosome (symbiosome), but here, the phagosome invaginates into enlarged microalgal cells, perhaps to optimize metabolic exchange. This observation adds evidence that the algal metamorphosis is irreversible. Hosts, therefore, trigger and benefit from major bioenergetic remodeling of symbiotic microalgae with potential consequences for the oceanic carbon cycle. Unlike other photosymbioses, this interaction represents a so-called cytoklepty, which is a putative initial step toward plastid acquisition

    Emission centers in Ca1xPrxF2+x(x=0.35)Ca_{1–x}Pr_xF_{2+x} (x = 0.35) solid solutions

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    Luminescence spectra of Ca0.65Pr0.35F2.35 solid solutions are studied. It is found that, depending on the excitation energy, different kinds of emission centers appear in these spectra. An interconfigurational 4f 15d1 →4f2 luminescence is typical for single Pr3+ ions in tetragonal sites. Data on the structure of the solid solutions show that the emission centers involved in 1S0 → 4f2 transitions can be attributed to Pr3+ ions contained in clusters

    Microbial Identification, High-Resolution Microscopy and Spectrometry of the Rhizosphere in Its Native Spatial Context

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    During the past decades, several stand-alone and combinatorial methods have been developed to investigate the chemistry (i.e., mapping of elemental, isotopic, and molecular composition) and the role of microbes in soil and rhizosphere. However, none of these approaches are currently applicable to characterize soil-root-microbe interactions simultaneously in their spatial arrangement. Here we present a novel approach that allows for simultaneous microbial identification and chemical analysis of the rhizosphere at micro− to nano-meter spatial resolution. Our approach includes (i) a resin embedding and sectioning method suitable for simultaneous correlative characterization of Zea mays rhizosphere, (ii) an analytical work flow that allows up to six instruments/techniques to be used correlatively, and (iii) data and image correlation. Hydrophilic, immunohistochemistry compatible, low viscosity LR white resin was used to embed the rhizosphere sample. We employed waterjet cutting and avoided polishing the surface to prevent smearing of the sample surface at nanoscale. The quality of embedding was analyzed by Helium Ion Microscopy (HIM). Bacteria in the embedded soil were identified by Catalyzed Reporter Deposition-Fluorescence in situ Hybridization (CARD-FISH) to avoid interferences from high levels of autofluorescence emitted by soil particles and organic matter. Chemical mapping of the rhizosphere was done by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with Energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM-EDX), Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (ToF-SIMS), nano-focused Secondary Ion mass Spectrometry (nanoSIMS), and confocal Raman spectroscopy (μ-Raman). High-resolution correlative characterization by six different techniques followed by image registration shows that this method can meet the demanding requirements of multiple characterization techniques to identify spatial organization of bacteria and chemically map the rhizosphere. Finally, we presented individual and correlative workflows for imaging and image registration to analyze data. We hope this method will be a platform to combine various 2D analytics for an improved understanding of the rhizosphere processes and their ecological significance

    Functional micelles formed by branched polymeric surfactants: Synthesis, characteristics, and application as nanoreactors and carriers

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    Branched polymeric surfactants composed of grafted non-ionic polyethylene glycol (PEG) and anionic polyelectrolyte chains were synthesized via radical polymerization initiated by the comb-like PEG-containing polyperoxide. Above definite concentration in solution, these surfactants form micelle-like structures (MLS). The MLS formed by branched polymeric molecules are of larger size in comparison with size of MLS formed by the initial PEG-containing polyperoxide that is caused mainly by different mechanism of their self-organization and morphology of formed MLS. The availability of grafted polyelectrolyte chains in the MLS provides a possibility of their use as the containers for immobilization of bio-active substances and nucleation of the inorganic nanoparticles, as well as formation of their stable colloidal systems in water in a wide pH range. Noticeable compaction and narrowed size distribution of the MLS were revealed after immobilization of doxorubicin (Dox) molecules or Fe2_2O3_3 nanocrystals. MLS-based systems were used for delivery of Dox and maghemite particles at treatment of tumor cells. Both MLS-based formulations of Dox and Fe2_2O3_3 were efficiently engulfed by rat glioma C6 cells. A significant (10 times) decrease in the effective therapeutic dose of Dox was found when this drug was delivered by a MLS-based formulation of Dox. That effect might be explained by a specific structure and functionality of the novel carrier used for immobilization of drug that should be delivered to target cells
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