02224nas a2200229 4500008004100000245016400041210006900205260001200274300000800286490000700294520144700301100002401748700002301772700002201795700001501817700002101832700002201853700002201875700003201897700002101929856004401950 2021 eng d00aMetabolic capacity of the Antarctic cyanobacterium Phormidium pseudopriestleyi that sustains oxygenic photosynthesis in the presence of hydrogen sulfide0 aMetabolic capacity of the Antarctic cyanobacterium IPhormidium p c03/2021 a4260 v123 a

Sulfide inhibits oxygenic photosynthesis by blocking electron transfer between H2O and the oxygen-evolving complex in the D1 protein of Photosystem II. The ability of cyanobacteria to counter this effect has implications for understanding the productivity of benthic microbial mats in sulfidic environments throughout Earth history. In Lake Fryxell, Antarctica, the benthic, filamentous cyanobacterium Phormidium pseudopriestleyi creates a 1–2 mm thick layer of 50 µmol L−1 O2 in otherwise sulfidic water, demonstrating that it sustains oxygenic photosynthesis in the presence of sulfide. A metagenome-assembled genome of P. pseudopriestleyi indicates a genetic capacity for oxygenic photosynthesis, including multiple copies of psbA (encoding the D1 protein of Photosystem II), and anoxygenic photosynthesis with a copy of sqr (encoding the sulfide quinone reductase protein that oxidizes sulfide). The genomic content of P. pseudopriestleyi is consistent with sulfide tolerance mechanisms including increasing psbA expression or directly oxidizing sulfide with sulfide quinone reductase. However, the ability of the organism to reduce Photosystem I via sulfide quinone reductase while Photosystem II is sulfide-inhibited, thereby performing anoxygenic photosynthesis in the presence of sulfide, has yet to be demonstrated. 

1 aLumian, Jessica, E.1 aJungblut, Anne, D.1 aDillon, Megan, L.1 aHawes, Ian1 aDoran, Peter, T.1 aMackey, Tyler, J.1 aDick, Gregory, J.1 aGrettenberger, Christen, L.1 aSumner, Dawn, Y. uhttps://www.mdpi.com/2073-4425/12/3/42602205nas a2200205 4500008004100000245012400041210006900165260001200234300001300246490000700259520150700266100002201773700001501795700002301810700002201833700002401855700002101879700002101900856007801921 2020 eng d00aEnvironmental control on the distribution of metabolic strategies of benthic microbial mats in Lake Fryxell, Antarctica0 aEnvironmental control on the distribution of metabolic strategie c04/2020 ae02310530 v153 a

Ecological theories posit that heterogeneity in environmental conditions greatly affects community structure and function. However, the degree to which ecological theory developed using plant- and animal-dominated systems applies to microbiomes is unclear. Investigating the metabolic strategies found in microbiomes are particularly informative for testing the universality of ecological theories because microorganisms have far wider metabolic capacity than plants and animals. We used metagenomic analyses to explore the relationships between the energy and physicochemical gradients in Lake Fryxell and the metabolic capacity of its benthic microbiome. Statistical analysis of the relative abundance of metabolic marker genes and gene family diversity shows that oxygenic photosynthesis, carbon fixation, and flavin-based electron bifurcation differentiate mats growing in different environmental conditions. The pattern of gene family diversity points to the likely importance of temporal environmental heterogeneity in addition to resource gradients. Overall, we found that the environmental heterogeneity of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and oxygen concentration ([O2]) in Lake Fryxell provide the framework by which metabolic diversity and composition of the community is structured, in accordance with its phylogenetic structure. The organization of the resulting microbial ecosystems are consistent with the maximum power principle and the species sorting model.

1 aDillon, Megan, L.1 aHawes, Ian1 aJungblut, Anne, D.1 aMackey, Tyler, J.1 aEisen, Jonathan, A.1 aDoran, Peter, T.1 aSumner, Dawn, Y. uhttps://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0231053