Shaping of the Present-Day Deep Biosphere at Chicxulub by the Impact Catastrophe That Ended the Cretaceous

Abstract

We report on the effect of the end-Cretaceous impact event on the present-day deep microbial biosphere at the impact site. IODP-ICDP Expedition 364 drilled into the peak ring of the Chicxulub crater, México, allowing us to investigate the microbial communities within this structure. Increased cell biomass was found in the impact suevite, which was deposited within the first few hours of the Cenozoic, demonstrating that the impact produced a new lithological horizon that caused a long-term improvement in deep subsurface colonization potential. In the biologically impoverished granitic rocks, we observed increased cell abundances at impact-induced geological interfaces, that can be attributed to the nutritionally diverse substrates and/or elevated fluid flow. 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing revealed taxonomically distinct microbial communities in each crater lithology. These observations show that the impact caused geological deformation that continues to shape the deep subsurface biosphere at Chicxulub in the present day.

Coupled C, H, N, S and Fe biogeochemical cycles operating in the continental deep subsurface of the Iberian Pyrite Belt

“…Despite the difficulties in assessing cell density within a solid, low-porosity rock and variable mineralogical content, conservative estimates derived from the analysis of different samples along the borehole yielded values between 10 4 and 10 5 cells/g of rock sample, regardless of depth. This is in the same order of magnitude as that reported for other continental hard rock drilling operations (Breuker et al, 2011;Cockell et al, 2012;Cockell et al, 2021;Dutta et al, 2018;Fry et al, 2009;Onstott et al, 2003).…”

“…To generate information on the abundance, diversity, as well as microbiome functions in continental subsurface rock systems, devoted drillings are required to generate core samples with which to perform essential complementary analysis. The few devoted continental drilling operations carried out to date have reported, in general, microbial diversity information from samples obtained at great depth distances and/or using just one methodology, which do not produce sufficient reliable information to describe the operation of the biogeochemical cycles in the deep subsurface (Breuker et al, 2011 ; Cockell et al, 2021 ; Dutta et al, 2018 ; Fry et al, 2009 ; Lehman et al, 2004 ; Liu et al, 2020 ; Momper, Reese, et al, 2017 ; Zhang et al, 2005 ). To overcome these limitations, this work employed 47 core samples, in order to generate an exhaustive complementary and multidisciplinary analysis of the microbiology and microbial‐driven geochemical processes operating in the deep subsurface of the IPB.…”

“…Data are represented in the plots by small dots and their geometric mean represented by large dots. Cockell et al, 2021;Dutta et al, 2018;Fry et al, 2009;Lehman et al, 2004;Liu et al, 2020;Momper, Reese, et al, 2017;Zhang et al, 2005). To overcome these limitations, this work employed 47 core samples, in order to generate an exhaustive complementary and multidisciplinary analysis of the microbiology and microbial-driven geochemical processes operating in the deep subsurface of the IPB.…”

“…Pseudomonadota, Actinomycetota and Bacillota have been described as the most common phyla identified in the continental deep‐subsurface (Fry et al, 2009; Magnabosco et al, 2016; Nuppunen‐Puputti et al, 2022; Onstott et al, 2009; Wu et al, 2016; Zhang et al, 2005). Members of the most representative genera were previously identified in different continental deep subsurface drilling operations, Acidiphilium (Cockell et al, 2021; Johnson, 2012), Acidovorax (Liu et al, 2020; Miyoshi et al, 2005; Onstott et al, 2003; Shimizu et al, 2006), Acidithiobacillus (Johnson, 2012: Lau et al, 2016), Brevundimonas (Bell et al, 2020; Bose et al, 2020; Nuppunen‐Puputti et al, 2022; Onstott et al, 2009), Desulfovibrio (Bell et al, 2020; Motamedi & Pedersen, 1998; Shimizu et al, 2006), Pseudomonas (Boivin‐Jahns et al, 1996; Onstott et al, 2009; Shimizu et al, 2006; Zhang et al, 2005), Rhizobium (Dutta et al, 2018; Momper, Reese, et al, 2017; Zhang et al, 2005), Shewanella (Dutta et al, 2018; Fredrickson et al, 1998; Onstott et al, 2009), Arthrobacter (Lehman et al, 2004; Zhang et al, 2005), Propionibacterium (Boivin‐Jahns et al, 1996), Tessaracoccus (Cockell et al, 2012), Bacillus (Cockell et al, 2012; Dutta et al, 2018; Onstott et al, 2009; Zhang et al, 2005), Desulfosporosinu s (Onstott et al, 2009), Sulfobacillus (Gihring et al, 2006), Leptospirillum (Gihring et al, 2006; Johnson, 2012), and Cyanobacteria (Bose et al, 2020; Dutta et al, 2018; Gihring et al, 2006; Momper, Reese, et al, 2017), with the exception of Rhodoplanes for which this is the first report of its identification in the deep subsurface. The presence of genes encoding nitrate ammonification, denitrification, sulf...…”

Microbial diversity and function in crystalline basement beneath the Deccan Traps explored in a 3 km borehole at Koyna, western India

“…Higher abundance of Actinobacteria in the KSZ deep biosphere was in line with extreme and multiple stress‐tolerant ability of this group of bacteria as well as the prevailing extremities of the igneous crust underneath the Deccan Traps. Members of this phylum were considered as extremotrophic, inhabiting extreme environments with prolonged desiccation, extreme temperature and/or pressure, UV and gamma radiation, and so on (such as Atacama Desert, Antarctic dry valley, oligotrophic lakes, high altitude lakes, soda lakes, salt lakes, hot springs, geothermal soils and volcanic mud, Chicxulub crater, Mariana Trench and soils from the heights of the Central Andes (Idris et al ., 2017; Bull and Goodfellow, 2019; Golinska et al ., 2020; Cockell et al ., 2021).…”