Assessing the Diversity of Benthic Sulfate-Reducing Microorganisms in Northwestern Gulf of Mexico by Illumina Sequencing
- PDF / 1,144,415 Bytes
- 14 Pages / 595.276 x 790.866 pts Page_size
- 74 Downloads / 193 Views
ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
Assessing the Diversity of Benthic Sulfate-Reducing Microorganisms in Northwestern Gulf of Mexico by Illumina Sequencing of dsrB Gene Ma. Fernanda Sánchez-Soto 1 & Daniel Cerqueda-García 2 & Rocío J. Alcántara-Hernández 3 & Luisa I. Falcón 4 & Daniel Pech 5 & Flor Árcega-Cabrera 6 & Ma. Leopoldina Aguirre-Macedo 1 & José Q. García-Maldonado 7 Received: 20 April 2020 / Accepted: 21 October 2020 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract This study investigates the community composition, structure, and abundance of sulfate-reducing microorganisms (SRM) in surficial sediments of the Northwestern Gulf of Mexico (NWGoM) along a bathymetric gradient. For these purposes, Illumina sequencing and quantitative PCR (qPCR) of the dissimilatory sulfite reductase gene beta subunit (dsrB gene) were performed. Bioinformatic analyses indicated that SRM community was predominantly composed by members of Proteobacteria and Firmicutes across all the samples. However, Actinobacteria, Thermodesulfobacteria, and Chlorobi were also detected. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that unassigned dsrB sequences were related to Deltaproteobacteria and Nitrospirota superclusters, Euryarchaeota, and to environmental clusters. PCoA ordination revealed that samples clustered in three different groups. PERMANOVA indicated that water depth, temperature, redox, and nickel and cadmium content were the main environmental drivers for the SRM communities in the studied sites. Alpha diversity and abundance of SRM were lower for deeper sites, suggesting decreasing sulfate reduction activity with respect to water depth. This study contributes with the understanding of distribution and composition of dsrAB-containing microorganisms involved in sulfur transformations that may contribute to the resilience and stability of the benthic microbial communities facing metal and hydrocarbon pollution in the NWGoM, a region of recent development for oil and gas drilling. Keywords Gulf of Mexico . Sulfate-reducing microorganisms . dsrB gene . Illumina sequencing . qPCR
Introduction Biological sulfate reduction to sulfide is a crucial step in the global sulfur, carbon, and metal cycles, particularly in marine
sediments where sulfate is the main anaerobic oxidant [1–3]. This metabolism is mediated by the ubiquitous sulfatereducing microorganisms (SRM) that dominate the anaerobic steps in the mineralization processes of sulfate-rich marine
Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-02001631-5. * Ma. Leopoldina Aguirre-Macedo [email protected]
3
Instituto de Geología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
* José Q. García-Maldonado [email protected]
4
Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Parque Científico y Tecnológico de Yucatán, Sierra Papacal, Mexico
5
Laboratorio de Biodiversidad Marina y Cambio Climático, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Campeche, Mexico
Data Loading...
