College of Agriculture

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As the foundation of the land grant mission at Montana State University, the College of Agriculture and the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station provide instruction in traditional and innovative degree programs and conduct research on old and new challenges for Montana’s agricultural community. This integration creates opportunities for students and faculty to excel through hands-on learning, to serve through campus and community engagement, to explore unique solutions to distinct and interesting questions and to connect Montanans with the global community through research discoveries and outreach.

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Author: search.filters.author.Boyd, Eric S.search.filters.applied.f.department: search.filters.department.Microbiology & Cell Biology.

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Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Ecological dichotomies arise in microbial communities due to mixing of deep hydrothermal waters and atmospheric gas in a circumneutral hot spring.
    (American Society for Microbiology, 2021-09) Fernandes-Martins, Maria C.; Keller, Lisa M.; Munro-Ehrlich, Mason; Zimlich, Kathryn R.; Mettler, Madelyn K.; England, Alexis M.; Clare, Rita; Surya, Kevin; Shock, Everett L.; Colman, Daniel R.; Boyd, Eric S.
    Understanding the source and availability of energy capable of supporting life in hydrothermal environments is central to predicting the ecology of microbial life on early Earth when volcanic activity was more widespread. Little is known of the substrates supporting microbial life in circumneutral to alkaline springs, despite their relevance to early Earth habitats.
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    Molecular Evidence for an Active Microbial Methane Cycle in Subsurface Serpentinite-Hosted Groundwaters in the Samail Ophiolite, Oman
    (American Society for Microbiology, 2021-01) Kraus, Emily A.; Nothaft, Daniel; Stamps, Blake W.; Rempfert, Kaitlin R.; Ellison, Eric T.; Matter, Juerg M.; Templeton, Alexis S.; Boyd, Eric S.; Spear, John R.
    Serpentinization can generate highly reduced fluids replete with hydrogen (H2) and methane (CH4), potent reductants capable of driving microbial methanogenesis and methanotrophy, respectively. However, CH4 in serpentinized waters is thought to be primarily abiogenic, raising key questions about the relative importance of methanogens and methanotrophs in the production and consumption of CH4 in these systems. Herein, we apply molecular approaches to examine the functional capability and activity of microbial CH4 cycling in serpentinization-impacted subsurface waters intersecting multiple rock and water types within the Samail Ophiolite of Oman. Abundant 16S rRNA genes and transcripts affiliated with the methanogenic genus Methanobacterium were recovered from the most alkaline (pH, >10), H2- and CH4-rich subsurface waters. Additionally, 16S rRNA genes and transcripts associated with the aerobic methanotrophic genus Methylococcus were detected in wells that spanned varied fluid geochemistry. Metagenomic sequencing yielded genes encoding homologs of proteins involved in the hydrogenotrophic pathway of microbial CH4 production and in microbial CH4 oxidation. Transcripts of several key genes encoding methanogenesis/methanotrophy enzymes were identified, predominantly in communities from the most hyperalkaline waters. These results indicate active methanogenic and methanotrophic populations in waters with hyperalkaline pH in the Samail Ophiolite, thereby supporting a role for biological CH4 cycling in aquifers that undergo low-temperature serpentinization.
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    Diversification of methanogens into hyperalkaline serpentinizing environments through adaptations to minimize oxidant limitation
    (Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2020-11) Fones, Elizabeth M.; Colman, Daniel R.; Kraus, Emily A.; Stepanauskas, Ramunas; Templetin, Alexis S.; Spear, John R.; Boyd, Eric S.
    Metagenome assembled genomes (MAGs) and single amplified genomes (SAGs) affiliated with two distinct Methanobacterium lineages were recovered from subsurface fracture waters of the Samail Ophiolite, Sultanate of Oman. Lineage Type I was abundant in waters with circumneutral pH, whereas lineage Type II was abundant in hydrogen rich, hyperalkaline waters. Type I encoded proteins to couple hydrogen oxidation to CO2 reduction, typical of hydrogenotrophic methanogens. Surprisingly, Type II, which branched from the Type I lineage, lacked homologs of two key oxidative [NiFe]-hydrogenases. These functions were presumably replaced by formate dehydrogenases that oxidize formate to yield reductant and cytoplasmic CO2 via a pathway that was unique among characterized Methanobacteria, allowing cells to overcome CO2/oxidant limitation in high pH waters. This prediction was supported by microcosm-based radiotracer experiments that showed significant biological methane generation from formate, but not bicarbonate, in waters where the Type II lineage was detected in highest relative abundance. Phylogenetic analyses and variability in gene content suggested that recent and ongoing diversification of the Type II lineage was enabled by gene transfer, loss, and transposition. These data indicate that selection imposed by CO2/oxidant availability drove recent methanogen diversification into hyperalkaline waters that are heavily impacted by serpentinization.
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