Discrete Community Assemblages Within Hypersaline Paleolake Sediments of Pilot Valley, Utah

Lynch, Kennda; Rey, Kevin A.; Rj, Bond; Biddle, Jennifer F.; Rosenzweig, Frank; Munakata-Marr, Junko

doi:10.1101/634642

Cited by 4 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 79 publications

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“…The archaeal and bacterial taxa composition varies with sediment depth and mineralogy but is remarkably consistent across a horizontal transect of several kilometers ( 10 ). Similar microbial diversity results have been reported for hypersaline sediments in the nearby Pilot Valley basin, another remnant of Lake Bonneville, which has also been studied as a Mars analog environment due to its deposits of perchlorate ( 11 , 12 ).…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 81%

“…Microbial diversity studies of these arid to hyperarid, hypersaline systems have confirmed the presence of resident microbial communities with both cultivation-dependent and cultivation-independent studies ( 10 , 19 , 20 ). A few studies have investigated these systems for their abilities to support specific metabolic activities, such as carbon monoxide oxidation ( 20 , 21 ), perchlorate reduction ( 12 ), and hypolithic photosynthesis ( 22 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 67%

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Metabolic Potential of Microbial Communities in the Hypersaline Sediments of the Bonneville Salt Flats

et al. 2022

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The Bonneville Salt Flats is a unique ecosystem created from 10,000 years of desiccation and serves as an important natural laboratory for the investigation of the habitability of salty, halite, and gypsum-rich environments. Here, we show that gypsum-rich mineral deposits host a surprising diversity of organisms and appear to play a key role in stimulating the microbial cycling of sulfur and nitrogen compounds.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 81%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 67%

Metabolic Potential of Microbial Communities in the Hypersaline Sediments of the Bonneville Salt Flats

et al. 2022

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“…The archaeal and bacterial taxa composition varies with sediment depth (spanning a few centimeters) but is remarkably consistent across a horizontal transect of several kilometers (McGonigle et al, 2019). Similar microbial diversity results have been reported for hypersaline sediments in the nearby Pilot Valley basin, another remnant of Lake Bonneville (Lynch et al, 2019b(Lynch et al, , 2019a.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 79%

“…The taxonomy of MAGs containing denitrification genes have been previously described as highly abundant organisms at BSF through 16S rRNA analyses (eg. Salinivenus, Halobacteriales, Nanosalinales, Halanerobiales, and Thiohalorhabdaceae) (Lynch et al, 2019b;McGonigle et al, 2019). While numerous MAGs contained genes for denitrification, none contained genes for all four steps in the process.…”

Section: Denitrification Is the Center Of The Bsf Nitrogen Cyclementioning

confidence: 99%

Metabolic Potential of Microbial Communities in the Hypersaline Sediments of the Bonneville Salt Flats

McGonigle

Bernau

Bowen

et al. 2021

Preprint

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The Bonneville Salt Flats (BSF) appear to be entirely desolate when viewed from above, but in reality they host rich microbial communities just below the surface salt crust. In this study, we investigate the metabolic potential of the BSF microbial ecosystem. The predicted and measured metabolic activities provide new insights into the ecosystem functions of evaporite landscapes and are an important analog for potential subsurface microbial ecosystems on ancient and modern Mars. Hypersaline and evaporite systems have been investigated previously as astrobiological analogs for Mars and other salty celestial bodies. Still, these studies have generally focused on aquatic systems and cultivation-dependent approaches. Here, we present an ecosystem-level examination of metabolic pathways within the shallow subsurface of evaporites. We detected aerobic and anaerobic respiration as well as methanogenesis in BSF sediments. Metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) of diverse bacteria and archaea encoded a remarkable diversity of metabolic pathways, including those associated with carbon fixation, carbon monoxide oxidation, acetogenesis, methanogenesis, sulfide oxidation, denitrification, and nitrogen fixation. These results demonstrate the potential for multiple energy sources and metabolic pathways in BSF and highlight the possibility for vibrant microbial ecosystems in the shallow subsurface of evaporites.

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“…Only one culture-independent study of microorganisms at the BSF has been conducted previously (39). This study focused on the adjacent basin Pilot Valley but also included one sampling location at the BSF.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Robust Archaeal and Bacterial Communities Inhabit Shallow Subsurface Sediments of the Bonneville Salt Flats

McGonigle

Bernau

Bowen

et al. 2019

mSphere

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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.

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Discrete Community Assemblages Within Hypersaline Paleolake Sediments of Pilot Valley, Utah

Cited by 4 publications

References 79 publications

Metabolic Potential of Microbial Communities in the Hypersaline Sediments of the Bonneville Salt Flats

Metabolic Potential of Microbial Communities in the Hypersaline Sediments of the Bonneville Salt Flats

Metabolic Potential of Microbial Communities in the Hypersaline Sediments of the Bonneville Salt Flats

Robust Archaeal and Bacterial Communities Inhabit Shallow Subsurface Sediments of the Bonneville Salt Flats

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