Transition from stromatolite to thrombolite fabric: potential role for reticulopodial protists in lake microbialites of a Proterozoic ecosystem analog
Prior observations suggest that foraminiferan protists use their reticulopodia (anastomosing pseudopodia) to alter sediment fabric by disrupting laminations of subtidal marine stromatolites, erasing the layered structures in an experimental setting. Because microbialites and foraminifera are found i...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-10-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Microbiology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1210781/full |
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| author | Joan M. Bernhard Luke A. Fisher Quinne Murphy Leena Sen Leena Sen Heidi D. Yeh Heidi D. Yeh Artemis Louyakis Fatma Gomaa Fatma Gomaa Megan Reilly Megan Reilly Paola G. Batta-Lona Ann Bucklin Veronique Le Roux Pieter T. Visscher |
| author_facet | Joan M. Bernhard Luke A. Fisher Quinne Murphy Leena Sen Leena Sen Heidi D. Yeh Heidi D. Yeh Artemis Louyakis Fatma Gomaa Fatma Gomaa Megan Reilly Megan Reilly Paola G. Batta-Lona Ann Bucklin Veronique Le Roux Pieter T. Visscher |
| author_sort | Joan M. Bernhard |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Prior observations suggest that foraminiferan protists use their reticulopodia (anastomosing pseudopodia) to alter sediment fabric by disrupting laminations of subtidal marine stromatolites, erasing the layered structures in an experimental setting. Because microbialites and foraminifera are found in non-marine settings, we hypothesized that foraminifera living in lakes could also disrupt layered microbialite fabric. With this aim and using a variety of multidisciplinary approaches, we conducted field surveys and an experiment on microbialites from Green Lake (GL; Fayetteville, New York State, United States), which has been studied as a Proterozoic ecosystem analog. The lake is meromictic and alkaline, receiving calcium sulfate-rich water in the monimolimnion; it supports a well-developed carbonate platform that provides access to living and relict microbialites. The living microbialites grow from early spring to autumn, forming a laminated mat at their surface (top ~5 mm), but a clotted or massive structure exists at depth (> ~ 1 cm). We observed a morphotype of “naked” foraminiferan-like protist in samples from GL microbialites and sediments; thus, considered the possibility of freshwater foraminiferan impact on microbialite fabric. Results of an experiment that seeded the cultured freshwater foraminifer Haplomyxa saranae onto the GL microbialite surface indicates via micro-CT scanning and anisotropy analysis that the introduced foraminifer impacted uppermost microbialite layering (n = 3 cores); those cores with an added inhibitor lacked changes in anisotropy for two of those three cores. Thus, it remains plausible that the much smaller, relatively common, native free-form reticulate protist, which we identified as Chlamydomyxa labyrinthuloides, can disrupt microbialite fabrics on sub-millimeter scales. Our observations do not exclude contributions of other possible causal factors. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T14:47:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3de9a27ddf6c48e9838b22d71c811faf |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-302X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T14:47:09Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Microbiology |
| spelling | doaj.art-3de9a27ddf6c48e9838b22d71c811faf2023-10-30T10:40:16ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Microbiology1664-302X2023-10-011410.3389/fmicb.2023.12107811210781Transition from stromatolite to thrombolite fabric: potential role for reticulopodial protists in lake microbialites of a Proterozoic ecosystem analogJoan M. Bernhard0Luke A. Fisher1Quinne Murphy2Leena Sen3Leena Sen4Heidi D. Yeh5Heidi D. Yeh6Artemis Louyakis7Fatma Gomaa8Fatma Gomaa9Megan Reilly10Megan Reilly11Paola G. Batta-Lona12Ann Bucklin13Veronique Le Roux14Pieter T. Visscher15Department of Geology and Geophysics, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, United StatesDepartment of Marine Sciences, University of Connecticut, Groton, CT, United StatesDepartment of Marine Sciences, University of Connecticut, Groton, CT, United StatesDepartment of Geology and Geophysics, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, United StatesDepartment of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United StatesDepartment of Marine Sciences, University of Connecticut, Groton, CT, United StatesDepartment of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United StatesDepartment of Marine Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, United StatesDepartment of Geology and Geophysics, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, United StatesDepartment of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United StatesDepartment of Geology and Geophysics, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, United StatesDepartment of Marine Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, United StatesDepartment of Marine Sciences, University of Connecticut, Groton, CT, United StatesDepartment of Marine Sciences, University of Connecticut, Groton, CT, United StatesDepartment of Geology and Geophysics, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, United StatesDepartment of Marine Sciences, University of Connecticut, Groton, CT, United StatesPrior observations suggest that foraminiferan protists use their reticulopodia (anastomosing pseudopodia) to alter sediment fabric by disrupting laminations of subtidal marine stromatolites, erasing the layered structures in an experimental setting. Because microbialites and foraminifera are found in non-marine settings, we hypothesized that foraminifera living in lakes could also disrupt layered microbialite fabric. With this aim and using a variety of multidisciplinary approaches, we conducted field surveys and an experiment on microbialites from Green Lake (GL; Fayetteville, New York State, United States), which has been studied as a Proterozoic ecosystem analog. The lake is meromictic and alkaline, receiving calcium sulfate-rich water in the monimolimnion; it supports a well-developed carbonate platform that provides access to living and relict microbialites. The living microbialites grow from early spring to autumn, forming a laminated mat at their surface (top ~5 mm), but a clotted or massive structure exists at depth (> ~ 1 cm). We observed a morphotype of “naked” foraminiferan-like protist in samples from GL microbialites and sediments; thus, considered the possibility of freshwater foraminiferan impact on microbialite fabric. Results of an experiment that seeded the cultured freshwater foraminifer Haplomyxa saranae onto the GL microbialite surface indicates via micro-CT scanning and anisotropy analysis that the introduced foraminifer impacted uppermost microbialite layering (n = 3 cores); those cores with an added inhibitor lacked changes in anisotropy for two of those three cores. Thus, it remains plausible that the much smaller, relatively common, native free-form reticulate protist, which we identified as Chlamydomyxa labyrinthuloides, can disrupt microbialite fabrics on sub-millimeter scales. Our observations do not exclude contributions of other possible causal factors.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1210781/fullmicrobialitestromatoliteFayetteville Green LakeRhizariaChlamydomyxa labyrinthuloidesHaplomyxa saranae |
| spellingShingle | Joan M. Bernhard Luke A. Fisher Quinne Murphy Leena Sen Leena Sen Heidi D. Yeh Heidi D. Yeh Artemis Louyakis Fatma Gomaa Fatma Gomaa Megan Reilly Megan Reilly Paola G. Batta-Lona Ann Bucklin Veronique Le Roux Pieter T. Visscher Transition from stromatolite to thrombolite fabric: potential role for reticulopodial protists in lake microbialites of a Proterozoic ecosystem analog Frontiers in Microbiology microbialite stromatolite Fayetteville Green Lake Rhizaria Chlamydomyxa labyrinthuloides Haplomyxa saranae |
| title | Transition from stromatolite to thrombolite fabric: potential role for reticulopodial protists in lake microbialites of a Proterozoic ecosystem analog |
| title_full | Transition from stromatolite to thrombolite fabric: potential role for reticulopodial protists in lake microbialites of a Proterozoic ecosystem analog |
| title_fullStr | Transition from stromatolite to thrombolite fabric: potential role for reticulopodial protists in lake microbialites of a Proterozoic ecosystem analog |
| title_full_unstemmed | Transition from stromatolite to thrombolite fabric: potential role for reticulopodial protists in lake microbialites of a Proterozoic ecosystem analog |
| title_short | Transition from stromatolite to thrombolite fabric: potential role for reticulopodial protists in lake microbialites of a Proterozoic ecosystem analog |
| title_sort | transition from stromatolite to thrombolite fabric potential role for reticulopodial protists in lake microbialites of a proterozoic ecosystem analog |
| topic | microbialite stromatolite Fayetteville Green Lake Rhizaria Chlamydomyxa labyrinthuloides Haplomyxa saranae |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1210781/full |
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