Robust Archaeal and Bacterial Communities Inhabit Shallow Subsurface Sediments of the Bonneville Salt Flats
ABSTRACT We report the first census of natural microbial communities of the Bonneville Salt Flats (BSF), a perennial salt pan at the Utah-Nevada border. Environmental DNA sequencing of archaeal and bacterial 16S rRNA genes was conducted on samples from multiple evaporite sediment layers collected fr...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
American Society for Microbiology
2019-08-01
|
| Series: | mSphere |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/mSphere.00378-19 |
| _version_ | 1818398486823960576 |
|---|---|
| author | Julia M. McGonigle Jeremiah A. Bernau Brenda B. Bowen William J. Brazelton |
| author_facet | Julia M. McGonigle Jeremiah A. Bernau Brenda B. Bowen William J. Brazelton |
| author_sort | Julia M. McGonigle |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT We report the first census of natural microbial communities of the Bonneville Salt Flats (BSF), a perennial salt pan at the Utah-Nevada border. Environmental DNA sequencing of archaeal and bacterial 16S rRNA genes was conducted on samples from multiple evaporite sediment layers collected from the upper 30 cm of the surface salt crust. Our results show that at the time of sampling (September 2016), BSF hosted a robust microbial community dominated by diverse halobacteria and Salinibacter species. Sequences identical to Geitlerinema sp. strain PCC 9228, an anoxygenic cyanobacterium that uses sulfide as the electron donor for photosynthesis, are also abundant in many samples. We identified taxonomic groups enriched in each layer of the salt crust sediment and revealed that the upper gypsum sediment layer found immediately under the uppermost surface halite contains a robust microbial community. In these sediments, we found an increased presence of Thermoplasmatales, Hadesarchaeota, Nanoarchaeaeota, Acetothermia, Desulfovermiculus, Halanaerobiales, Bacteroidetes, and Rhodovibrio. This study provides insight into the diversity, spatial heterogeneity, and geologic context of a surprisingly complex microbial ecosystem within this macroscopically sterile landscape. IMPORTANCE Pleistocene Lake Bonneville, which covered a third of Utah, desiccated approximately 13,000 years ago, leaving behind the Bonneville Salt Flats (BSF) in the Utah West Desert. The potash salts that saturate BSF basin are extracted and sold as an additive for agricultural fertilizers. The salt crust is a well-known recreational and economic commodity, but the biological interactions with the salt crust have not been studied. This study is the first geospatial analysis of microbially diverse populations at this site using cultivation-independent environmental DNA sequencing methods. Identification of the microbes present within this unique, dynamic, and valued sedimentary evaporite environment is an important step toward understanding the potential consequences of perturbations to the microbial ecology on the surrounding landscape and ecosystem. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T07:05:33Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b9b614374cc441a69195b36bcf85869d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2379-5042 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T07:05:33Z |
| publishDate | 2019-08-01 |
| publisher | American Society for Microbiology |
| record_format | Article |
| series | mSphere |
| spelling | doaj.art-b9b614374cc441a69195b36bcf85869d2022-12-21T23:12:14ZengAmerican Society for MicrobiologymSphere2379-50422019-08-014410.1128/mSphere.00378-19Robust Archaeal and Bacterial Communities Inhabit Shallow Subsurface Sediments of the Bonneville Salt FlatsJulia M. McGonigle0Jeremiah A. Bernau1Brenda B. Bowen2William J. Brazelton3School of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USADepartment of Geology and Geophysics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USADepartment of Geology and Geophysics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USASchool of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USAABSTRACT We report the first census of natural microbial communities of the Bonneville Salt Flats (BSF), a perennial salt pan at the Utah-Nevada border. Environmental DNA sequencing of archaeal and bacterial 16S rRNA genes was conducted on samples from multiple evaporite sediment layers collected from the upper 30 cm of the surface salt crust. Our results show that at the time of sampling (September 2016), BSF hosted a robust microbial community dominated by diverse halobacteria and Salinibacter species. Sequences identical to Geitlerinema sp. strain PCC 9228, an anoxygenic cyanobacterium that uses sulfide as the electron donor for photosynthesis, are also abundant in many samples. We identified taxonomic groups enriched in each layer of the salt crust sediment and revealed that the upper gypsum sediment layer found immediately under the uppermost surface halite contains a robust microbial community. In these sediments, we found an increased presence of Thermoplasmatales, Hadesarchaeota, Nanoarchaeaeota, Acetothermia, Desulfovermiculus, Halanaerobiales, Bacteroidetes, and Rhodovibrio. This study provides insight into the diversity, spatial heterogeneity, and geologic context of a surprisingly complex microbial ecosystem within this macroscopically sterile landscape. IMPORTANCE Pleistocene Lake Bonneville, which covered a third of Utah, desiccated approximately 13,000 years ago, leaving behind the Bonneville Salt Flats (BSF) in the Utah West Desert. The potash salts that saturate BSF basin are extracted and sold as an additive for agricultural fertilizers. The salt crust is a well-known recreational and economic commodity, but the biological interactions with the salt crust have not been studied. This study is the first geospatial analysis of microbially diverse populations at this site using cultivation-independent environmental DNA sequencing methods. Identification of the microbes present within this unique, dynamic, and valued sedimentary evaporite environment is an important step toward understanding the potential consequences of perturbations to the microbial ecology on the surrounding landscape and ecosystem.https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/mSphere.00378-19astrobiologyextremophileshalophileshypersaline environments |
| spellingShingle | Julia M. McGonigle Jeremiah A. Bernau Brenda B. Bowen William J. Brazelton Robust Archaeal and Bacterial Communities Inhabit Shallow Subsurface Sediments of the Bonneville Salt Flats mSphere astrobiology extremophiles halophiles hypersaline environments |
| title | Robust Archaeal and Bacterial Communities Inhabit Shallow Subsurface Sediments of the Bonneville Salt Flats |
| title_full | Robust Archaeal and Bacterial Communities Inhabit Shallow Subsurface Sediments of the Bonneville Salt Flats |
| title_fullStr | Robust Archaeal and Bacterial Communities Inhabit Shallow Subsurface Sediments of the Bonneville Salt Flats |
| title_full_unstemmed | Robust Archaeal and Bacterial Communities Inhabit Shallow Subsurface Sediments of the Bonneville Salt Flats |
| title_short | Robust Archaeal and Bacterial Communities Inhabit Shallow Subsurface Sediments of the Bonneville Salt Flats |
| title_sort | robust archaeal and bacterial communities inhabit shallow subsurface sediments of the bonneville salt flats |
| topic | astrobiology extremophiles halophiles hypersaline environments |
| url | https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/mSphere.00378-19 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT juliammcgonigle robustarchaealandbacterialcommunitiesinhabitshallowsubsurfacesedimentsofthebonnevillesaltflats AT jeremiahabernau robustarchaealandbacterialcommunitiesinhabitshallowsubsurfacesedimentsofthebonnevillesaltflats AT brendabbowen robustarchaealandbacterialcommunitiesinhabitshallowsubsurfacesedimentsofthebonnevillesaltflats AT williamjbrazelton robustarchaealandbacterialcommunitiesinhabitshallowsubsurfacesedimentsofthebonnevillesaltflats |