Environmental Geochemistry and Health

Abstract Seasonal breeding is an important adaptive strategy for animals. Recent studies have highlighted the potential role of the gut microbiota in reproductive health. However, the relationship between the gut microbiota and reproduction in seasonal breeders remains unclear. In this study, we selected a unique single food source animal, the flying squirrel (Trogopterus xanthipes), as a model organism for studying seasonal breeding. By integrating transcriptomic, metabolomic, and microbiome data, we comprehensively investigated the regulation of the gut-metabolism-testis axis in seasonal breeding. Here, we demonstrated a significant spermatogenic phenotype and highly active spermatogenic transcriptional characteristics in the testes of flying squirrels during the breeding season, which were associated with increased polyamine metabolism, primarily involving spermine and γ-amino butyric acid. Moreover, an enrichment of Ruminococcus was observed in the large intestine during the BS and may contribute to enhanced methionine biosynthesis in the gut. Similar changes in Ruminococcus abundance were also observed in several other seasonal breeders. These findings innovatively revealed that reshaping the gut microbiota regulates spermatogenesis in seasonal breeders through polyamine metabolism, highlighting the great potential of the gut-testis axis in livestock animal breeding and human health management.

Abstract “Obelisks” are recently discovered RNA viroid-like elements present in diverse environments with no phylogenetic similarity to any known biological agent. Obelisks were first identified in the human gut and in a commensal bacterium acting as a replicative host. They have a circular ∼1 kb RNA genome, rod-like secondary structures, and the encoding of a protein superfamily called “Oblins”. We performed a large-scale search of Obelisks in the ocean using the Pebblescout program and the transcriptomic Sequence Archive Read databases, revealing the biogeography and abundance of these viroid-like RNA elements. We detected 45 Obelisk genomes resulting in 35 marine clusters at the species level. These Obelisks were detected in the prokaryotic fraction and to a lesser extent in the eukaryotic fraction, and distributed across all the oceans from surface to mesopelagic including the Arctic, and even in the coldest seawater of Earth beneath the Antarctic Ross Ice Shelf. The Obelisk hallmark protein Oblin-1 confirmed by 3D models was found in various marine samples. Some of the detected marine Obelisks harbour hammerhead self-cleaving ribozymes in both polarities. In the prokaryotic, but not the eukaryotic, fraction of the Tara Ocean dataset, relative abundance of Obelisks calculated by transcriptomic fragment recruitment indicated that they are abundant in marine samples, reaching or even exceeding the relative abundance of the previously discovered uncultured RNA viruses. In conclusion, Obelisks are abundant and widespread viroid-like elements that should be included in ocean biogeochemical models.

Abstract Wax esters are fatty acid-based neutral lipids thought to be restricted to bacteria and eukaryotes that play a key role in the functioning and maintenance of cells, especially under adverse conditions. Here we show that several halophilic archaea (Halobacteriales) carry a homologue of the bacterial wax synthase gene. Wax ester synthesis and accumulation is demonstrated in one of these (poly)extremophilic archaea, Natronomonas pharaonis, during growth on long-chain fatty acids. Our bioinformatic analysis also shows that the synthesis of fatty alcohols required for wax ester synthesis could be performed by an enzyme evolutionarily related to class I 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMGR, classically involved in isoprenoid biosynthesis). Using heterologous expression and enzymatic assays, we show that this HMGR homolog, which we named FcrA (for fatty acyl-CoA reductase), reduces fatty acyl-CoA to fatty alcohol, but cannot reduce 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA to mevalonate. The conservation of HMGR catalytic residues in FcrA suggests that the two enzymes have a similar catalytic mechanism, whereas an elongated substrate-binding pocket and distinct residues may explain FcrA’s selectivity for long chain fatty acyl-CoA. In addition to archaea, FcrA is present in a wide range of bacteria, including ~25% of those predicted to produce wax esters, and accounts for a large proportion of the fatty acyl-CoA reductases found in various environments. Challenging the long-held paradigm that archaea cannot biosynthesize fatty acid-based neutral lipids de novo, this study lays the foundations for further physiological, ecological, and biotechnological investigation of neutral lipid production by systems markedly different from those of eukaryotes and bacteria.

Abstract Freshwater picocyanobacteria (Syn/Pro clade) contribute substantially to the primary production of inland waters, especially when nitrogen is limiting or co-limiting. Nevertheless, they remain poorly understood ecologically and genomically, with research on their nitrogen acquisition mainly focused on inorganic sources. However, dissolved organic nitrogen is often a major component of the freshwater nitrogen pool and it is increasingly evident that many forms are bioavailable. Comparative genomic analyses, axenic growth assays, and proteomic analyses were used here to investigate organic nitrogen acquisition mechanisms in the Syn/Pro clade. Comparative analysis of the genomes of 295 freshwater and marine strains of picocyanobacteria identified a large diversity of amino acid transporters, the absence of degradation pathways for five amino acids (asparagine, phenylalanine, serine, tryptophan, and tyrosine), and alternative mechanisms for chitin assimilation (direct chitin catabolise vs initial acetylation to chitosan and subsequent degradation). Growth assays demonstrated the widespread bioavailability of amino acids, including basic amino acids though the known basic amino acid transporter is not encoded. This suggests further genetic components are involved, either through extracellular catabolism or the presence of novel transporters. Proteomic analysis demonstrates the dual utilisation of nitrogen and carbon from the amino acid substrate and provides evidence for a mild stress response through the up-regulation of lysine biosynthesis and FtsH1, potentially caused by accumulation of secondary metabolites. Our results are relevant to understanding how picocyanobacteria have come to thrive in dissolved organic nitrogen-rich oligotrophic environments and explores how their different molecular capabilities may influence communities between habitats.

Abstract Numerous studies and clinical applications have underscored the therapeutic potential of the indigenous gut bacterium Akkermansia muciniphila in various diseases. However, our understanding of how A. muciniphila senses and responds to host gastrointestinal signals remains limited. Here, we demonstrate that A. muciniphila exhibits rapid growth, facilitated by its self-produced carbon dioxide, with key enzymes such as glutamate decarboxylase, carbonic anhydrase, and pyruvate ferredoxin oxidoreductase playing pivotal roles. Additionally, we design a novel delivery system, comprising calcium carbonate, inulin, A. muciniphila, and sodium alginate, which enhances A. muciniphila growth and facilitates the expression of part probiotic genes in mice intestinal milieu. Notably, the administration of this delivery system induces weight loss in mice fed high-fat diets. Furthermore, we elucidate the significant impact of carbon dioxide on the composition and functional genes of the human gut microbiota, with genes encoding carbonic anhydrase and amino acid metabolism enzymes exhibiting heightened responsiveness. These findings reveal a novel mechanism by which gut commensal bacteria sense and respond to gaseous molecules, thereby promoting growth. Moreover, they suggest the potential for designing rational therapeutic strategies utilizing live bacterial delivery systems to enhance probiotic growth and ameliorate gut microbiota-related diseases.

Abstract Dinoflagellates are an abundant and diverse group of protists that inhabit aquatic environments worldwide. They are characterized by numerous unique cellular and molecular traits, and have adapted to an unusually broad range of life strategies, including phototrophy, heterotrophy, parasitism, and all combinations of these. For most microbial groups, transitions from marine to freshwater environments are relatively rare, as changes in salinity are thought to lead to significant osmotic challenges that are difficult for the cell to overcome. Recent work has shown that dinoflagellates have overcome these challenges relatively often in evolutionary time, but because this is mostly based on single gene trees with low overall support, many of the relationships between freshwater and marine groups remain unresolved. Normally, phylogenomics could clarify such conclusions, but despite the recent surge in data, virtually no freshwater dinoflagellates have been characterized at the genome-wide level. Here, we generated 30 transcriptomes from cultures and single cells collected from freshwater environments to infer a robustly supported phylogenomic tree from 217 conserved genes, resolving at least seven transitions to freshwater in dinoflagellates. Mapping the distribution of ASVs from freshwater environmental samples onto this tree confirms these groups and identifies additional lineages where freshwater dinoflagellates likely remain unsampled. We also sampled two species of Durinskia, a genus of “dinotoms” with both marine and freshwater lineages containing Nitzschia-derived tertiary plastids. Ribosomal RNA phylogenies show that the host cells are closely related, but their endosymbionts are likely descended from two distantly-related freshwater Nitzschia species that were acquired in parallel and relatively recently.

Abstract Pelagic calcifying protists such as coccolithophores and foraminifera represent an important microbial component of the marine carbon cycle. Although their calcitic shells are preserved in oceanic sediments over millennia, their resilience in the future decades is uncertain. We review current literature describing the response of calcifying protists to ocean acidification and temperature warming. We examine these key ecological and biogeochemical processes through the cellular perspective, exploring the physiological, metabolic, and molecular responses of calcifying protists. Ocean acidification is a chemical process that takes place in the seawater outside the cell, whereas protists calcify inside a modified cellular microenvironment. The function of these calcification compartments depends on cellular response to ocean acidification, such as maintaining pH homeostasis. The response of calcifying protists to ocean acidification and temperature warming is species-specific, with no unifying trends but rather a range of sensitivity levels. Coccolithophores and foraminifera display physiological sensitivity that may hamper their ecological success in comparison to non-calcifying species. Yet, certain species may be more adaptable, especially when comparing to highly vulnerable calcifying molluscs as pteropods. As the molecular machinery mediating cellular calcification is not fully resolved, as well as the functional role of the calcitic shell, our ability to predict the fate of calcifying microorganisms in a warmer, more acidic ocean is limited. We propose the urgent need to expand the study of these model systems by advancing cell biology approaches, to better understand the impact of climate change on microbial food webs in the ocean.

Abstract The diffusible toxin ColIb produced by Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium SL1344 is a potent inhibitor of Escherichia coli growth. To identify and parameterize metabolic cross-feeding in states of competition, we established defined communities in which E. coli was the only species able to access a sole carbon source, lactose. Although ColIb was predicted to undermine cross-feeding by killing the lactose-converting E. coli, S. enterica populations thrived in co-culture. We discovered that ColIb caused the release of active β-galactosidase from E. coli cells, which induced galactose uptake by S. enterica. Although iron limitation stimulates ColIb production and makes E. coli more sensitive to the toxin, ColIb killing in iron-limited conditions did not enhance iron acquisition or siderophore scavenging by S. enterica. Also unexpected was the rapid rate at which resistance to ColIb evolved in E. coli through spontaneous mutation of the ColIb receptor gene cirA or horizontal acquisition of the S. enterica colicin immunity gene imm. Mathematical modelling effectively predicted the growth kinetics of E. coli and S. enterica populations, revealing a tractable system in which ColIb can shrink a competitor population while simultaneously amplifying the metabolic contributions of the suppressed population.

Abstract Bradyrhizobium is a main rhizobial lineage of which most members nodulate legume plants using Nod factors synthetized by the nod genes. However, members of the Photosynthetic supergroup (phylogroup) within Bradyrhizobium are nod-free, but still capable of establishing nitrogen-fixing nodules with some tropical legumes of the Aeschynomene genus. These unusual findings are based on the genomic sequences of only 13 Photosynthetic Bradyrhizobium strains, and almost all were isolated from Aeschynomene nodules. Here, we report that Photosynthetic Bradyrhizobium supergroup members are more abundantly associated with rice root (endosphere and rhizosphere) compared to grassland, forest, and maize samples based on rpoB amplicon sequence analyses. We sequenced 263 new isolates of this supergroup mostly from two main subspecies of cultivated rice (Oryza sativa L. spp. indica and japonica). The extended supergroup comprises three major clades with their diversity broadly covering the natural community of this supergroup: a basal clade with significant expansion of its diversity, a clade composed by two phylogenetically diverse strains including one newly isolated, and a new clade exclusively represented by our new strains. Although this supergroup members universally lack the canonical nod genes, all 28 assayed strains covering the broad diversity induced nodules on Aeschynomene indica. The three clades displayed important differences in the efficiency of symbiosis, aligning well with their phylogenetic divergence. With this expanded ecological, phylogenetic, and functional diversity, we conclude that the nod factor-independent nodulation of Aeschynomene is a common trait of this supergroup, in contrast to the photosynthetic trait originally thought of as its unifying feature.

Abstract Serpentinization, the collective set of geochemical reactions initiated by the hydration of ultramafic rock, has occurred throughout Earth history and is inferred to occur on several planets and moons in our solar system. These reactions generate highly reducing conditions that can drive organic synthesis reactions potentially conducive to the emergence of life, while concomitantly generating fluids that challenge life owing to hyperalkalinity and limited inorganic carbon (and oxidant) availability. Consequently, the serpentinite-hosted biosphere offers insights into the earliest life, the habitable limits for life, and the potential for life on other planets. However, the support of abundant microbial communities by serpentinites was only recognized ~20 years ago with the discovery of deep-sea hydrothermal vents emanating serpentinized fluids. Here, we review the microbial ecology of both marine and continental serpentinization-influenced ecosystems in conjunction with a comparison of publicly available metagenomic sequence data from these communities to provide a global perspective of serpentinite microbial ecology. Synthesis of observations across global systems reveal consistent themes in the diversity, ecology, and functioning of communities. Nevertheless, individual systems exhibit nuances due to local geology, hydrology, and input of oxidized, near-surface/seawater fluids. Further, several new (and old) questions remain including the provenance of carbon to support biomass synthesis, the physical and chemical limits of life in serpentinites, the mode and tempo of in situ evolution, and the extent that modern serpentinites serve as analogs for those on early Earth. These topics are explored from a microbial perspective to outline key knowledge-gaps for future research.

Abstract The correlations between gut microbiota and host metabolism had been studied extensively, whereas little relevant work had been done to investigate the impact of gut microbial interactions on host metabolism. Assisted with bacteriocin-targeting strategy, we aimed to identify the glucose and lipid metabolism-associated gut microbes by adjusting the gut microbial composition of high-fat diet-fed mice. To fulfill this goal, the Listeria monocytogenes-derived bacteriocin Lmo2776 secretion module was constructed and integrated into the genome of Escherichia coli Nissle 1917, yielding the Lmo2776-secreting strain EcN-2776. EcN-2776 administration decreased the blood glucose and increased the serum triglyceride of high-fat diet-fed mice. 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing indicated that intestinal secretion of Lmo2776 adjusted the gut microbial composition of high-fat diet-fed mice. Specifically, Lmo2776 restricted the growth of Ligilactobacillus murinus, thus alleviating its inhibitory impact towards Faecalibaculum rodentium. Further analyses indicated that Faecalibaculum rodentium administration decreased the fasting blood glucose of high-fat diet-fed mice, which might be achieved by the intestinal consumption of glucose by Faecalibaculum rodentium. Our study identified the glucose metabolism-associated gut microbes, uncovered their interactions, deciphered the impact of gut microbial interaction on host glucose metabolism, and paved the way for treating hyperglycemia from the perspective of gut microbial interactions.

Abstract The gut microbiome plays a crucial role in human health, and certain bacterial species, such as Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, are particularly beneficial. This study conducted a comprehensive investigation of prebiotic compounds that showed potential for specifically promoting beneficial gut bacteria. Using in vitro fecal cultures and a human intervention study, we identified maltobionic acid and lactobionic acid as compounds that specifically promoted Faecalibacterium growth both in vitro and in vivo without significantly affecting Bifidobacterium, which is typically increased by traditional prebiotics. In a human intervention study (n = 27), a significant increase was observed in Faecalibacterium abundance following maltobionic acid supplementation, with effectiveness correlating with the initial Parabacteroides abundance. Mechanistic investigations revealed a cross-feeding pathway between gut bacteria. In this pathway, Parabacteroides species converted the gluconic acid moiety of maltobionic and lactobionic acids to glucuronic acid, which was then preferentially utilized by Faecalibacterium. These findings suggest that gluconic acid-containing oligosaccharides are promising prebiotics for the targeted enhancement of beneficial Faecalibacterium and underscore the importance of microbial interactions in prebiotic research, offering new avenues for personalized microbiome modulation strategies.

Abstract Members of Methylotenera are signature denitrifiers and methylotrophs commonly found together with methanotrophic bacteria in lakes and freshwater sediments. Here we show that three distinct Methylotenera ecotypes were abundant in methane-rich groundwaters recharged during the Pleistocene. Just like in surface water biomes, groundwater Methylotenera often co-occurred with methane-oxidizing bacteria, even though they were generally unable to denitrify. One abundant Methylotenera ecotype expressed a pathway for aerobic methane production from methylphosphonate. This phosphate-acquisition strategy was recently found to contribute to methane production in the oligotrophic, oxic upper ocean. Gene organization, phylogeny, and 3D protein structure of the key enzyme, C-P lyase subunit PhnJ, were consistent with a role in phosphate uptake. We conclude that phosphate may be a limiting nutrient in productive, methane-rich aquifers, and that methylphosphonate degradation might contribute to groundwater methane production.

Abstract Microbial communities can shape key ecological services, but the determinants of their functioning often remain little understood. While traditional research predominantly focuses on effects related to species identity (community composition and species richness), recent work increasingly explores the impact of species interactions on community functioning. Here, we conducted experiments with replicated small communities of Pseudomonas bacteria to quantify the relative importance of strain identity versus interaction effects on two important functions, community productivity and siderophore production. By combining supernatant and competition assays with an established linear model method, we show that both factors have significant effects on functioning, but identity effects generally outweigh strain interaction effects. These results hold irrespective of whether strain interactions are inferred statistically or approximated experimentally. Our results have implications for microbiome engineering, as the success of approaches aiming to induce beneficial (probiotic) strain interactions will be sensitive to strain identity effects in many communities.

Abstract In nature, cooperation is an essential way for species, whether they belong to the same kingdom or to different kingdoms, to overcome the scarcity of resources and improve their fitness. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi are symbiotic microorganisms whose origin date back 400 million years. They form symbiotic associations with the vast majority of terrestrial plants, helping them to obtain nutrients from the soil in exchange for carbon. At the more complex level, soil bacteria participate in the symbiosis between arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and plants: they obtain carbon from the exudation of hyphae connected to the roots and compensate for the limited saprophytic capacity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi by mineralizing organic compounds. Therefore, plants, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and soil bacteria constitute a continuum that may be accompanied by multiple forms of cooperation. In this review, we first analyzed the functional complementarities and differences between plants and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis. Secondly, we discussed the resource exchange relationship between plants and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi from the perspective of biological market theory and “surplus carbon” hypothesis. Finally, on the basis of mechanisms for maintaining cooperation, direct and indirect reciprocity in the hyphosphere, induced by the availability of external resource and species fitness, were examined. Exploring these reciprocal cooperations will provide a better understanding of the intricate ecological relationships between plants, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and soil bacteria as well as their evolutionary implications.