Publications by Colleges and Departments (MSU - Bozeman)
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Item Impact of mineral and non-mineral sources of iron and sulfur on the metalloproteome of Methanosarcina barkeri(American Society for Microbiology, 2024-07) Larson, James; Tokmina-Lukaszewska, Monika; Payne, Devon; Spietz, Rachel L.; Fausset, Hunter; Alam, Md Gahangir; Brekke, Brooklyn K.; Pauley, Jordan; Hasenoehrl, Ethan J.; Shepard, Eric M.; Boyd, Eric S.; Bothner, BrianMethanogens often inhabit sulfidic environments that favor the precipitation of transition metals such as iron (Fe) as metal sulfides, including mackinawite (FeS) and pyrite (FeS2). These metal sulfides have historically been considered biologically unavailable. Nonetheless, methanogens are commonly cultivated with sulfide (HS-) as a sulfur source, a condition that would be expected to favor metal precipitation and thus limit metal availability. Recent studies have shown that methanogens can access Fe and sulfur (S) from FeS and FeS2 to sustain growth. As such, medium supplied with FeS2 should lead to higher availability of transition metals when compared to medium supplied with HS-. Here, we examined how transition metal availability under sulfidic (i.e., cells provided with HS- as sole S source) versus non-sulfidic (cells provided with FeS2 as sole S source) conditions impact the metalloproteome of Methanosarcina barkeri Fusaro. To achieve this, we employed size exclusion chromatography coupled with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and shotgun proteomics. Significant changes were observed in the composition and abundance of iron, cobalt, nickel, zinc, and molybdenum proteins. Among the differences were alterations in the stoichiometry and abundance of multisubunit protein complexes involved in methanogenesis and electron transport chains. Our data suggest that M. barkeri utilizes the minimal iron-sulfur cluster complex and canonical cysteine biosynthesis proteins when grown on FeS2 but uses the canonical Suf pathway in conjunction with the tRNA-Sep cysteine pathway for iron-sulfur cluster and cysteine biosynthesis under sulfidic growth conditions.Item Sulfide oxidation by members of the Sulfolobales(Oxford University Press, 2024-05) Fernandes-Martins, Maria C.; Colman, Daniel R.; Boyd, Eric S.The oxidation of sulfur compounds drives the acidification of geothermal waters. At high temperatures (>80°C) and in acidic conditions (pH <6.0), oxidation of sulfide has historically been considered an abiotic process that generates elemental sulfur (S0) that, in turn, is oxidized by thermoacidophiles of the model archaeal order Sulfolobales to generate sulfuric acid (i.e. sulfate and protons). Here, we describe five new aerobic and autotrophic strains of Sulfolobales comprising two species that were isolated from acidic hot springs in Yellowstone National Park (YNP) and that can use sulfide as an electron donor. These strains significantly accelerated the rate and extent of sulfide oxidation to sulfate relative to abiotic controls, concomitant with production of cells. Yields of sulfide-grown cultures were ∼2-fold greater than those of S0-grown cultures, consistent with thermodynamic calculations indicating more available energy in the former condition than the latter. Homologs of sulfide:quinone oxidoreductase (Sqr) were identified in nearly all Sulfolobales genomes from YNP metagenomes as well as those from other reference Sulfolobales, suggesting a widespread ability to accelerate sulfide oxidation. These observations expand the role of Sulfolobales in the oxidative sulfur cycle, the geobiological feedbacks that drive the formation of acidic hot springs, and landscape evolution.Item Methylotrophic methanogenesis in the Archaeoglobi revealed by cultivation of Ca. Methanoglobus hypatiae from a Yellowstone hot spring(Oxford University Press, 2024-03) Lynes, Mackenzie M.; Jay, Zackary J.; Kohtz, Anthony J.; Hatzenpichler, RolandOver the past decade, environmental metagenomics and polymerase chain reaction-based marker gene surveys have revealed that several lineages beyond just a few well-established groups within the Euryarchaeota superphylum harbor the genetic potential for methanogenesis. One of these groups are the Archaeoglobi, a class of thermophilic Euryarchaeota that have long been considered to live non-methanogenic lifestyles. Here, we enriched Candidatus Methanoglobus hypatiae, a methanogen affiliated with the family Archaeoglobaceae, from a hot spring in Yellowstone National Park. The enrichment is sediment-free, grows at 64–70°C and a pH of 7.8, and produces methane from mono-, di-, and tri-methylamine. Ca. M. hypatiae is represented by a 1.62 Mb metagenome-assembled genome with an estimated completeness of 100% and accounts for up to 67% of cells in the culture according to fluorescence in situ hybridization. Via genome-resolved metatranscriptomics and stable isotope tracing, we demonstrate that Ca. M. hypatiae expresses methylotrophic methanogenesis and energy-conserving pathways for reducing monomethylamine to methane. The detection of Archaeoglobi populations related to Ca. M. hypatiae in 36 geochemically diverse geothermal sites within Yellowstone National Park, as revealed through the examination of previously published gene amplicon datasets, implies a previously underestimated contribution to anaerobic carbon cycling in extreme ecosystems.Item Physiological potential and evolutionary trajectories of syntrophic sulfate-reducing bacterial partners of anaerobic methanotrophic archaea(Public Library of Science, 2023-09) Murali, Ranjani; Yu, Hang; Speth, Daan R.; Wu, Fabai; Metcalfe, Kyle S.; Crémière, Antoine; Laso-Pèrez, Rafael; Malmstrom, Rex R.; Goudeau, Danielle; Woyke, Tanja; Hatzenpichler, Roland; Chadwick, Grayson L.; Connon, Stephanie A.; Orphan, Victoria J.Sulfate-coupled anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) is performed by multicellular consortia of anaerobic methanotrophic archaea (ANME) in obligate syntrophic partnership with sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB). Diverse ANME and SRB clades co-associate but the physiological basis for their adaptation and diversification is not well understood. In this work, we used comparative metagenomics and phylogenetics to investigate the metabolic adaptation among the 4 main syntrophic SRB clades (HotSeep-1, Seep-SRB2, Seep-SRB1a, and Seep-SRB1g) and identified features associated with their syntrophic lifestyle that distinguish them from their non-syntrophic evolutionary neighbors in the phylum Desulfobacterota. We show that the protein complexes involved in direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET) from ANME to the SRB outer membrane are conserved between the syntrophic lineages. In contrast, the proteins involved in electron transfer within the SRB inner membrane differ between clades, indicative of convergent evolution in the adaptation to a syntrophic lifestyle. Our analysis suggests that in most cases, this adaptation likely occurred after the acquisition of the DIET complexes in an ancestral clade and involve horizontal gene transfers within pathways for electron transfer (CbcBA) and biofilm formation (Pel). We also provide evidence for unique adaptations within syntrophic SRB clades, which vary depending on the archaeal partner. Among the most widespread syntrophic SRB, Seep-SRB1a, subclades that specifically partner ANME-2a are missing the cobalamin synthesis pathway, suggestive of nutritional dependency on its partner, while closely related Seep-SRB1a partners of ANME-2c lack nutritional auxotrophies. Our work provides insight into the features associated with DIET-based syntrophy and the adaptation of SRB towards it.Item Viruses of the Turriviridae: an emerging model system for studying archaeal virus-host interactions(Frontiers Media SA, 2023-09) Overton, Michael S.; Manuel, Robert D.; Lawrence, C. Martin; Snyder, Jamie C.Viruses have played a central role in the evolution and ecology of cellular life since it first arose. Investigations into viral molecular biology and ecological dynamics have propelled abundant progress in our understanding of living systems, including genetic inheritance, cellular signaling and trafficking, and organismal development. As well, the discovery of viral lineages that infect members of all three domains suggest that these lineages originated at the earliest stages of biological evolution. Research into these viruses is helping to elucidate the conditions under which life arose, and the dynamics that directed its early development. Archaeal viruses have only recently become a subject of intense study, but investigations have already produced intriguing and exciting results. STIV was originally discovered in Yellowstone National Park and has been the focus of concentrated research. Through this research, a viral genetic system was created, a novel lysis mechanism was discovered, and the interaction of the virus with cellular ESCRT machinery was revealed. This review will summarize the discoveries within this group of viruses and will also discuss future work.Item Diversity and function of methyl-coenzyme M reductase-encoding archaea in Yellowstone hot springs revealed by metagenomics and mesocosm experiments(Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2023-03) Lynes, Mackenzie M.; Krukenberg, Viola; Jay, Zackary J.; Kohtz, Anthony J.; Gobrogge, Christine A.; Lange Spietz, Rachel K.; Hatzenpichler, RolandMetagenomic studies on geothermal environments have been central in recent discoveries on the diversity of archaeal methane and alkane metabolism. Here, we investigated methanogenic populations inhabiting terrestrial geothermal features in Yellowstone National Park (YNP) by combining amplicon sequencing with metagenomics and mesocosm experiments. Detection of methyl-coenzyme M reductase subunit A (mcrA) gene amplicons demonstrated a wide diversity of Mcr-encoding archaea inhabit geothermal features with differing physicochemical regimes across YNP. From three selected hot springs we recovered twelve Mcr-encoding metagenome assembled genomes (MAGs) affiliated with lineages of cultured methanogens as well as Candidatus (Ca.) Methanomethylicia, Ca. Hadesarchaeia, and Archaeoglobi. These MAGs encoded the potential for hydrogenotrophic, aceticlastic, hydrogen-dependent methylotrophic methanogenesis, or anaerobic short-chain alkane oxidation. While Mcr-encoding archaea represent minor fractions of the microbial community of hot springs, mesocosm experiments with methanogenic precursors resulted in the stimulation of methanogenic activity and the enrichment of lineages affiliated with Methanosaeta and Methanothermobacter as well as with uncultured Mcr-encoding archaea including Ca. Korarchaeia, Ca. Nezhaarchaeia, and Archaeoglobi. We revealed that diverse Mcr-encoding archaea with the metabolic potential to produce methane from different precursors persist in the geothermal environments of YNP and can be enriched under methanogenic conditions. This study highlights the importance of combining environmental metagenomics with laboratory-based experiments to expand our understanding of uncultured Mcr-encoding archaea and their potential impact on microbial carbon transformations in geothermal environments and beyond.Item Salinity drives archaeal distribution patterns in high altitude lake sediments on the Tibetan Plateau(2016-03) Liu, Yongqin; Priscu, John C.; Xiong, Jinbo; Conrad, Ralf; Vick-Majors, Trista J.; Chu, Haiyan; Hou, JuzhiArchaeal communities and the factors regulating their diversity in high altitude lakes are poorly understood. Here, we provide the first high-throughput sequencing study of Archaea from Tibetan Plateau lake sediments. We analyzed twenty lake sediments from the world\'s highest and largest plateau and found diverse archaeal assemblages that clustered into groups dominated by methanogenic Euryarchaeota, Crenarchaeota and Halobacteria/mixed euryarchaeal phylotypes. Statistical analysis inferred that salinity was the major driver of community composition, and that archaeal diversity increased with salinity. Sediments with the highest salinities were mostly dominated by Halobacteria. Crenarchaeota dominated at intermediate salinities, and methanogens were present in all lake sediments, albeit most abundant at low salinities. The distribution patterns of the three functional types of methanogens (hydrogenotrophic, acetotrophic and methylotrophic) were also related to changes in salinity. Our results show that salinity is a key factor controlling archaeal community diversity and composition in lake sediments on a spatial scale that spans nearly 2000 km on the Tibetan Plateau.