Microbial Communities in Methane- and Short Chain Alkane-Rich Hydrothermal Sediments of Guaymas Basin

The hydrothermal sediments of Guaymas Basin, an active spreading center in the Gulf of California (Mexico), are rich in porewater methane, short-chain alkanes, sulfate and sulfide, and provide a model system to explore habitat preferences of microorganisms, including sulfate-dependent, methane- and short chain alkane-oxidizing microbial communities. In this study, hot sediments (above 60 degrees C) covered with sulfur-oxidizing microbial mats surrounding a hydrothermal mound (termed "Mat Mound") were characterized by porewater geochemistry of methane, C-2-C-6 short-chain alkanes, sulfate, sulfide, sulfate reduction rate measurements, in situ temperature gradients, bacterial and archaeal 16S rRNA gene clone libraries and V6 tag pyrosequencing. The most abundantly detected groups in the Mat mound sediments include anaerobic methane-oxidizing archaea of the ANME-1 lineage and its sister Glade ANME-1Guaymas, the uncultured bacterial groups SEEP-SRB2 within the Deltaproteobacteria and the separately branching HotSeep-1 Group; these uncultured bacteria are candidates for sulfate-reducing alkane oxidation and for sulfate-reducing syntrophy with ANME archaea. The archaeal dataset indicates distinct habitat preferences for ANME-1, ANME-1-Guaymas, and ANME-2 archaea in Guaymas Basin hydrothermal sediments. The bacterial groups SEEP-SRB2 and HotSeep-1 co-occur with ANME-1 and ANME-1Guaymas in hydrothermally active sediments underneath microbial mats in Guaymas Basin. We propose the working hypothesis that this mixed bacterial and archaeal community catalyzes the oxidation of both methane and short-chain alkanes, and constitutes a microbial community signature that is characteristic for hydrothermal and/or cold seep sediments containing both substrates

Microbial Communities in Methane- and Short Chain Alkane-Rich Hydrothermal Sediments of Guaymas Basin

The hydrothermal sediments of Guaymas Basin, an active spreading center in the Gulf of California (Mexico), are rich in porewater methane, short-chain alkanes, sulfate and sulfide, and provide a model system to explore habitat preferences of microorganisms, including sulfate-dependent, methane- and short chain alkane-oxidizing microbial communities. In this study, hot sediments (above 60 degrees C) covered with sulfur-oxidizing microbial mats surrounding a hydrothermal mound (termed "Mat Mound") were characterized by porewater geochemistry of methane, C-2-C-6 short-chain alkanes, sulfate, sulfide, sulfate reduction rate measurements, in situ temperature gradients, bacterial and archaeal 16S rRNA gene clone libraries and V6 tag pyrosequencing. The most abundantly detected groups in the Mat mound sediments include anaerobic methane-oxidizing archaea of the ANME-1 lineage and its sister Glade ANME-1Guaymas, the uncultured bacterial groups SEEP-SRB2 within the Deltaproteobacteria and the separately branching HotSeep-1 Group; these uncultured bacteria are candidates for sulfate-reducing alkane oxidation and for sulfate-reducing syntrophy with ANME archaea. The archaeal dataset indicates distinct habitat preferences for ANME-1, ANME-1-Guaymas, and ANME-2 archaea in Guaymas Basin hydrothermal sediments. The bacterial groups SEEP-SRB2 and HotSeep-1 co-occur with ANME-1 and ANME-1Guaymas in hydrothermally active sediments underneath microbial mats in Guaymas Basin. We propose the working hypothesis that this mixed bacterial and archaeal community catalyzes the oxidation of both methane and short-chain alkanes, and constitutes a microbial community signature that is characteristic for hydrothermal and/or cold seep sediments containing both substrates

Spatial heterogeneity and underlying geochemistry of phylogenetically diverse orange and white Beggiatoa mats in Guaymas Basin hydrothermal sediments

Sulfide-oxidizing bacteria of the genus Beggiatoa are found in conspicuous, colorful mats on the seafloor above active hydrothermal seeps at Guaymas Basin. Guaymas Beggiatoa filaments fall into discrete size classes representing at least five separate 16S rRNA phylotypes, and appear either white, yellow, or orange. During two R/V Atlantis cruises to Guaymas Basin, 78 temperature profiles were taken near and within 15 different orange and white Beggiatoa mats by the Alvin submersible to investigate spatial relationships between mat color and hydrothermal fluid seeps, as indicated by elevated temperatures. The surface temperatures from 78 profiles are similar to each other (on average 8–12 °C, warmer than bare sediments at 3–4 °C), indicating that Guaymas Basin Beggiatoa spp., although relying on the hydrothermal system for energy and carbon sources, live within a relatively cool temperature range. Temperatures from 40 cm below orange Beggiatoa versus white Beggiatoa are the same, at 84 °C averaged across all mat systems. However, within a single mat system, temperatures are higher beneath the predominantly orange center of the mat than beneath the white mat periphery. Push core transects across the orange-to-white color change of three Beggiatoa mats showed stronger upward compression of isotherms and metabolic zones beneath the orange mat center than beneath white mat periphery. Hydrothermal temperature gradients push the microbial processes generating carbon and energy sources for Beggiatoa mats towards the sediment surface. The resulting steep gradients of hydrothermal electron donors and carbon sources to the sediment surface, rather than the in situ temperature by itself, control the relative positioning of orange and white filaments within a Guaymas Basin Beggiatoa mat. Given the wide spectrum of temperature and hydrothermal flux regimes between different mats, the orange/white pattern represents a relative preference or even a competitive balance among different Beggiatoa types that establishes itself within each hydrothermal hot spot. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr.2012.04.01