Taxonomic and functional analyses of intact microbial communities thriving in extreme, astrobiology-relevant, anoxic sites

• Published in: Microbiome
• Main Authors: Bashir, Alexandra, Kristin, Wink, Lisa, Duller, Stefanie, Schwendner, Petra, Cockell, Charles, Rettberg, Petra, Mahnert, Alexander, Beblo-Vranesevic, Kristina, Bohmeier, Maria, Rabbow, Elke, Gaboyer, Frederic, Westall, Frances, Walter, Nicolas, Cabezas, Patricia, Garcia-Descalzo, Laura, Gomez, Felipe, Malki, Mustapha, Amils, Ricardo, Ehrenfreund, Pascale, Monaghan, Euan, Vannier, Pauline, Marteinsson, Viggo, Erlacher, Armin, Tanski, George, Strauss, Jens, Bashir, Mina, Riedo, Andreas, Moissl-Eichinger, Christine
• Other Authors: Medical University Graz, Medical University of Graz, University of Edinburgh (Edin.), DLR Institut für Luft- und Raumfahrtmedizin, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt Köln (DLR), Centre de biophysique moléculaire (CBM), Université d'Orléans (UO)-Université de Tours (UT)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Institut de Chimie - CNRS Chimie (INC-CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), European Science Foundation (ESF), Centro de Astrobiologia Madrid (CAB), Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA)-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas España = Spanish National Research Council Spain (CSIC), Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa Madrid (CBMSO), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas España = Spanish National Research Council Spain (CSIC)-Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), Leiden Observatory Leiden, Universiteit Leiden = Leiden University, Matis ohf Reykjavík, University of Iceland Reykjavik, Graz University of Technology Graz (TU Graz), Alfred Wegener Institute Potsdam, Alfred-Wegener-Institut, Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung = Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research = Institut Alfred-Wegener pour la recherche polaire et marine (AWI), Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft = Helmholtz Association-Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft = Helmholtz Association, Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research, Hochschulraum-Strukturmittel 2016 grant as part of BioTechMed Graz, European Project: 607297,EC:FP7:SPA,FP7-SPACE-2013-1,MASE(2014)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2021
• Subjects: : Extreme environments; Microbiomes; Archaea; Bacteria; Propidium monoazide; Astrobiology; Spaceanalogue; Extremophiles; Extraterrestrial life; Metagenomics; Extreme environments Microbiomes Archaea Bacteria Propidium monoazide Astrobiology Spaceanalogue Extremophiles Extraterrestrial life Metagenomics; Extreme environments; [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio]; [INFO.INFO-BI]Computer Science [cs]/Bioinformatics [q-bio.QM]; [SDV.MP]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Microbiology and Parasitology; permafrost
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-04548351; https://hal.science/hal-04548351/document; https://hal.science/hal-04548351/file/s40168-020-00989-5.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-020-00989-5

International audience Background Extreme terrestrial, analogue environments are widely used models to study the limits of life and to infer habitability of extraterrestrial settings. In contrast to Earth’s ecosystems, potential extraterrestrial biotopes are usually characterized by a lack of oxygen. Methods In the MASE project (Mars Analogues for Space Exploration), we selected representative anoxic analogue environments (permafrost, salt-mine, acidic lake and river, sulfur springs) for the comprehensive analysis of their microbial communities. We assessed the microbiome profile of intact cells by propidium monoazide-based amplicon and shotgun metagenome sequencing, supplemented with an extensive cultivation effort. Results The information retrieved from microbiome analyses on the intact microbial community thriving in the MASE sites, together with the isolation of 31 model microorganisms and successful binning of 15 high-quality genomes allowed us to observe principle pathways, which pinpoint specific microbial functions in the MASE sites compared to moderate environments. The microorganisms were characterized by an impressive machinery to withstand physical and chemical pressures. All levels of our analyses revealed the strong and omnipresent dependency of the microbial communities on complex organic matter. Moreover, we identified an extremotolerant cosmopolitan group of 34 poly-extremophiles thriving in all sites. Conclusions Our results reveal the presence of a core microbiome and microbial taxonomic similarities between saline and acidic anoxic environments. Our work further emphasizes the importance of the environmental, terrestrial parameters for the functionality of a microbial community, but also reveals a high proportion of living microorganisms in extreme environments with a high adaptation potential within habitability borders.