Aerobic and Anaerobic Thiosulfate Oxidation by a Cold-Adapted, Subglacial Chemoautotroph
ABSTRACT Geochemical data indicate that protons released during pyrite (FeS 2 ) oxidation are important drivers of mineral weathering in oxic and anoxic zones of many aquatic environments, including those beneath glaciers. Oxidation of FeS 2 under oxic, circumneutral conditions proceeds through the...
Published in: | Applied and Environmental Microbiology |
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/aem.03398-15 https://journals.asm.org/doi/pdf/10.1128/AEM.03398-15 |
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crasmicro:10.1128/aem.03398-15 2024-06-23T07:53:05+00:00 Aerobic and Anaerobic Thiosulfate Oxidation by a Cold-Adapted, Subglacial Chemoautotroph Harrold, Zoë R. Skidmore, Mark L. Hamilton, Trinity L. Desch, Libby Amada, Kirina van Gelder, Will Glover, Kevin Roden, Eric E. Boyd, Eric S. Voordouw, G. National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA 2016 http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/aem.03398-15 https://journals.asm.org/doi/pdf/10.1128/AEM.03398-15 en eng American Society for Microbiology https://journals.asm.org/non-commercial-tdm-license Applied and Environmental Microbiology volume 82, issue 5, page 1486-1495 ISSN 0099-2240 1098-5336 journal-article 2016 crasmicro https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.03398-15 2024-06-10T04:07:26Z ABSTRACT Geochemical data indicate that protons released during pyrite (FeS 2 ) oxidation are important drivers of mineral weathering in oxic and anoxic zones of many aquatic environments, including those beneath glaciers. Oxidation of FeS 2 under oxic, circumneutral conditions proceeds through the metastable intermediate thiosulfate (S 2 O 3 2− ), which represents an electron donor capable of supporting microbial metabolism. Subglacial meltwaters sampled from Robertson Glacier (RG), Canada, over a seasonal melt cycle revealed concentrations of S 2 O 3 2− that were typically below the limit of detection, despite the presence of available pyrite and concentrations of the FeS 2 oxidation product sulfate (SO 4 2− ) several orders of magnitude higher than those of S 2 O 3 2− . Here we report on the physiological and genomic characterization of the chemolithoautotrophic facultative anaerobe Thiobacillus sp. strain RG5 isolated from the subglacial environment at RG. The RG5 genome encodes genes involved with pathways for the complete oxidation of S 2 O 3 2− , CO 2 fixation, and aerobic and anaerobic respiration with nitrite or nitrate. Growth experiments indicated that the energy required to synthesize a cell under oxygen- or nitrate-reducing conditions with S 2 O 3 2− as the electron donor was lower at 5.1°C than 14.4°C, indicating that this organism is cold adapted. RG sediment-associated transcripts of soxB , which encodes a component of the S 2 O 3 2− -oxidizing complex, were closely affiliated with soxB from RG5. Collectively, these results suggest an active sulfur cycle in the subglacial environment at RG mediated in part by populations closely affiliated with RG5. The consumption of S 2 O 3 2− by RG5-like populations may accelerate abiotic FeS 2 oxidation, thereby enhancing mineral weathering in the subglacial environment. Article in Journal/Newspaper glacier* ASM Journals (American Society for Microbiology) Canada Robertson Glacier ENVELOPE(165.383,165.383,-71.050,-71.050) Applied and Environmental Microbiology 82 5 1486 1495 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
ASM Journals (American Society for Microbiology) |
op_collection_id |
crasmicro |
language |
English |
description |
ABSTRACT Geochemical data indicate that protons released during pyrite (FeS 2 ) oxidation are important drivers of mineral weathering in oxic and anoxic zones of many aquatic environments, including those beneath glaciers. Oxidation of FeS 2 under oxic, circumneutral conditions proceeds through the metastable intermediate thiosulfate (S 2 O 3 2− ), which represents an electron donor capable of supporting microbial metabolism. Subglacial meltwaters sampled from Robertson Glacier (RG), Canada, over a seasonal melt cycle revealed concentrations of S 2 O 3 2− that were typically below the limit of detection, despite the presence of available pyrite and concentrations of the FeS 2 oxidation product sulfate (SO 4 2− ) several orders of magnitude higher than those of S 2 O 3 2− . Here we report on the physiological and genomic characterization of the chemolithoautotrophic facultative anaerobe Thiobacillus sp. strain RG5 isolated from the subglacial environment at RG. The RG5 genome encodes genes involved with pathways for the complete oxidation of S 2 O 3 2− , CO 2 fixation, and aerobic and anaerobic respiration with nitrite or nitrate. Growth experiments indicated that the energy required to synthesize a cell under oxygen- or nitrate-reducing conditions with S 2 O 3 2− as the electron donor was lower at 5.1°C than 14.4°C, indicating that this organism is cold adapted. RG sediment-associated transcripts of soxB , which encodes a component of the S 2 O 3 2− -oxidizing complex, were closely affiliated with soxB from RG5. Collectively, these results suggest an active sulfur cycle in the subglacial environment at RG mediated in part by populations closely affiliated with RG5. The consumption of S 2 O 3 2− by RG5-like populations may accelerate abiotic FeS 2 oxidation, thereby enhancing mineral weathering in the subglacial environment. |
author2 |
Voordouw, G. National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Harrold, Zoë R. Skidmore, Mark L. Hamilton, Trinity L. Desch, Libby Amada, Kirina van Gelder, Will Glover, Kevin Roden, Eric E. Boyd, Eric S. |
spellingShingle |
Harrold, Zoë R. Skidmore, Mark L. Hamilton, Trinity L. Desch, Libby Amada, Kirina van Gelder, Will Glover, Kevin Roden, Eric E. Boyd, Eric S. Aerobic and Anaerobic Thiosulfate Oxidation by a Cold-Adapted, Subglacial Chemoautotroph |
author_facet |
Harrold, Zoë R. Skidmore, Mark L. Hamilton, Trinity L. Desch, Libby Amada, Kirina van Gelder, Will Glover, Kevin Roden, Eric E. Boyd, Eric S. |
author_sort |
Harrold, Zoë R. |
title |
Aerobic and Anaerobic Thiosulfate Oxidation by a Cold-Adapted, Subglacial Chemoautotroph |
title_short |
Aerobic and Anaerobic Thiosulfate Oxidation by a Cold-Adapted, Subglacial Chemoautotroph |
title_full |
Aerobic and Anaerobic Thiosulfate Oxidation by a Cold-Adapted, Subglacial Chemoautotroph |
title_fullStr |
Aerobic and Anaerobic Thiosulfate Oxidation by a Cold-Adapted, Subglacial Chemoautotroph |
title_full_unstemmed |
Aerobic and Anaerobic Thiosulfate Oxidation by a Cold-Adapted, Subglacial Chemoautotroph |
title_sort |
aerobic and anaerobic thiosulfate oxidation by a cold-adapted, subglacial chemoautotroph |
publisher |
American Society for Microbiology |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/aem.03398-15 https://journals.asm.org/doi/pdf/10.1128/AEM.03398-15 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(165.383,165.383,-71.050,-71.050) |
geographic |
Canada Robertson Glacier |
geographic_facet |
Canada Robertson Glacier |
genre |
glacier* |
genre_facet |
glacier* |
op_source |
Applied and Environmental Microbiology volume 82, issue 5, page 1486-1495 ISSN 0099-2240 1098-5336 |
op_rights |
https://journals.asm.org/non-commercial-tdm-license |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.03398-15 |
container_title |
Applied and Environmental Microbiology |
container_volume |
82 |
container_issue |
5 |
container_start_page |
1486 |
op_container_end_page |
1495 |
_version_ |
1802644579556524032 |