Metabolic potential of lithifying cyanobacteria-dominated thrombolitic mats

Mobberley, Jennifer M.; Khodadad, Christina L.; Foster, Jamie S.

doi:10.1007/s11120-013-9890-6

Cited by 43 publications

(75 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…Members of Scytonema were also found in the thrombolite metagenome from Highborne Cay, Bahamas (Mobberley et al 2013). Statistical analyses of the two microbial-mat samples show that we recovered the majority of the microbial community in our sampling (Good's Coverage 98% or greater) and that the alpha diversity of the biscuit mat is twice that of the flat mat.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 60%

Gene Sequencing-Based Analysis of Microbial-Mat Morphotypes, Caicos Platform, British West Indies

Trembath‐Reichert¹,

Ward²,

Slotznick³

et al. 2016

Journal of Sedimentary Research

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Active carbonate platforms provide modern analogs to study microbial-mat development and taphonomy in the sedimentary record. Microbial-mat descriptions and classifications for tropical tidal-flat environments have focused predominantly on morphological observations. This is exemplified by flat and biscuit-shaped mats, where the mat morphotypes are postulated to reflect different Cyanobacteria communities as the main mat-building taxa. To compare the total microbial communities of these two mat types and test this Cyanobacteria hypothesis, we applied optical microscopy and gene sequencing methods using samples from a tidal algal marsh on Little Ambergris Cay, Turks and Caicos, B.W.I. With gene sequencing we find that total diversity and community composition differs significantly between morphotypes; the biscuit mat is more diverse than the flat mat. Microscopy results support that Cyanobacteria populations colonizing the surface layer of these two mat types are responsible for much of the mat's structural elements; however, genetic data find the Cyanobacteria population is indistinguishable between the two mat types. The recovered Cyanobacteria populations fall predominantly into three taxa: Scytonema, Halomicronema, and Crinalium. We propose that the morphology of these two mat types is not controlled by the Cyanobacteria, but instead reflects a time-integrated microbial response to environmental factors, where the microbial community becomes more diverse with time since environmental disturbance.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 60%

Gene Sequencing-Based Analysis of Microbial-Mat Morphotypes, Caicos Platform, British West Indies

Trembath‐Reichert¹,

Ward²,

Slotznick³

et al. 2016

Journal of Sedimentary Research

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“…Some microbial mats can lead to the formation of microbially induced mineral precipitations known as microbialites (Schneider et al, 2013), although the process of microbialite formation is still not completely understood . Microbialites can be delineated by their carbonate macrostructure, those with a laminated formation are often referred to as stromatolites, while their non-laminated clotted counterparts are referred to as thrombolites (Mobberley et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A range of virulence genes were also identified that are often necessary to facilitate symbiotic relationships, and thus may provide clues to interactions between microorganisms in these systems. Metagenomic data on Bahaman stromatolites have been enlightening (Desnues et al, 2008;Khodadad and Foster, 2012;Mobberley et al, 2013), revealing a basis of a core microbial community structure (dominated by Cyanobacteria) and photosynthetic-induced carbonate precipitation. Recent in-depth studies have also combined metagenomic, stable isotopic and lipid analyses to study modern microbialites in Mexico (Breitbart et al, 2009;Nitti et al, 2012), indicating these metagenomes are capable of extensive environmental adaptation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We applied shotgun metagenomic sequencing of distinct Shark Bay mat and stromatolite systems for the first time, and also compared and contrasted the taxonomic and metabolic potential of previously obtained metagenomic data sets from marine stromatolites and thrombolites from Highbourne Cay, Bahamas (Khodadad and Foster, 2012;Mobberley et al, 2013). As early work suggested there were many similarities between the fabric of Shark Bay and Highbourne Cay stromatolites (Reid et al, 2003), delineating (any) differences at the functional metagenomic level may provide distinctions between the two environments.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Unravelling core microbial metabolisms in the hypersaline microbial mats of Shark Bay using high-throughput metagenomics

et al. 2015

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Modern microbial mats are potential analogues of some of Earth's earliest ecosystems. Excellent examples can be found in Shark Bay, Australia, with mats of various morphologies. To further our understanding of the functional genetic potential of these complex microbial ecosystems, we conducted for the first time shotgun metagenomic analyses. We assembled metagenomic nextgeneration sequencing data to classify the taxonomic and metabolic potential across diverse morphologies of marine mats in Shark Bay. The microbial community across taxonomic classifications using protein-coding and small subunit rRNA genes directly extracted from the metagenomes suggests that three phyla Proteobacteria, Cyanobacteria and Bacteriodetes dominate all marine mats. However, the microbial community structure between Shark Bay and Highbourne Cay (Bahamas) marine systems appears to be distinct from each other. The metabolic potential (based on SEED subsystem classifications) of the Shark Bay and Highbourne Cay microbial communities were also distinct. Shark Bay metagenomes have a metabolic pathway profile consisting of both heterotrophic and photosynthetic pathways, whereas Highbourne Cay appears to be dominated almost exclusively by photosynthetic pathways. Alternative non-rubisco-based carbon metabolism including reductive TCA cycle and 3-hydroxypropionate/4-hydroxybutyrate pathways is highly represented in Shark Bay metagenomes while not represented in Highbourne Cay microbial mats or any other mat forming ecosystems investigated to date. Potentially novel aspects of nitrogen cycling were also observed, as well as putative heavy metal cycling (arsenic, mercury, copper and cadmium). Finally, archaea are highly represented in Shark Bay and may have critical roles in overall ecosystem function in these modern microbial mats.

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“…The podcast specifically compared the functional gene diversity of microbes associated with two types of microbialites, laminated stromatolites an unlaminated thrombolites. The research included in the podcast was derived from two recently published studies on the functional gene complexity associated with these lithifying communities (Khodadad and Foster, 2012;Mobberley et al, 2013). The podcast contained various data slides, graphs, and interpretations of the two types of microbialite communities.…”

Section: Scientific Inquiry Exercise Structurementioning

confidence: 99%

Developing the Critical Thinking Skills of Astrobiology Students through Creative and Scientific Inquiry

Foster

Lemus

2015

Astrobiology

Self Cite

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Scientific inquiry represents a multifaceted approach to explore and understand the natural world. Training students in the principles of scientific inquiry can help promote the scientific learning process as well as help students enhance their understanding of scientific research. Here, we report on the development and implementation of a learning module that introduces astrobiology students to the concepts of creative and scientific inquiry, as well as provide practical exercises to build critical thinking skills. The module contained three distinct components: (1) a creative inquiry activity designed to introduce concepts regarding the role of creativity in scientific inquiry; (2) guidelines to help astrobiology students formulate and self-assess questions regarding various scientific content and imagery; and (3) a practical exercise where students were allowed to watch a scientific presentation and practice their analytical skills. Pre-and post-course surveys were used to assess the students' perceptions regarding creative and scientific inquiry and whether this activity impacted their understanding of the scientific process. Survey results indicate that the exercise helped improve students' science skills by promoting awareness regarding the role of creativity in scientific inquiry and building their confidence in formulating and assessing scientific questions. Together, the module and survey results confirm the need to include such inquiry-based activities into the higher education classroom, thereby helping students hone their critical thinking and question asking skill set and facilitating their professional development in astrobiology.

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Metabolic potential of lithifying cyanobacteria-dominated thrombolitic mats

Cited by 43 publications

References 53 publications

Gene Sequencing-Based Analysis of Microbial-Mat Morphotypes, Caicos Platform, British West Indies

Gene Sequencing-Based Analysis of Microbial-Mat Morphotypes, Caicos Platform, British West Indies

Unravelling core microbial metabolisms in the hypersaline microbial mats of Shark Bay using high-throughput metagenomics

Developing the Critical Thinking Skills of Astrobiology Students through Creative and Scientific Inquiry

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