Contrasting the Genetic Patterns of Microbial Communities in Soda Lakes with and without Cyanobacterial Bloom

Author(s)

Andreote, Ana P. D. ^[1] ; Dini-Andreote, Francisco ^[2] ; Rigonato, Janaina ^[1] ; Machineski, Gabriela Silva ^[1] ; Souza, Bruno C. E. ^[1] ; Barbiero, Laurent ^[3] ; Rezende-Filho, Ary T. ^[4] ; Fiore, Marli F. ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Ctr Nucl Energy Agr, Piracicaba - Brazil

^[2] Univ Groningen, Groningen Inst Evolutionary Life Sci, Microbial Ecol Cluster, Genom Res Ecol & Evolut Nat, Groningen - Netherlands

^[3] Univ Paul Sabatier, CNRS, Inst Rech Dev, Observ Midi Pyrenees, Geosci Environm Toulouse, Toulouse - France

^[4] Univ Fed Mato Grosso do Sul, Fac Engn Architecture & Urbanism & Geog, Campo Grande - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY; v. 9, FEB 22 2018.
• Web of Science Citations: 3

Abstract

Soda lakes have high levels of sodium carbonates and are characterized by salinity and elevated pH. These ecosystems are found across Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia, North, Central, and South America. Particularly in Brazil, the Pantanal region has a series of hundreds of shallow soda lakes (ca. 600) potentially colonized by a diverse haloalkaliphilic microbial community. Biological information of these systems is still elusive, in particular data on the description of the main taxa involved in the biogeochemical cycling of life-important elements. Here, we used metagenomic sequencing to contrast the composition and functional patterns of the microbial communities of two distinct soda lakes from the sub-region Nhecolandia, state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. These two lakes differ by permanent cyanobacterial blooms (Salina Verde, green-water lake) and by no record of cyanobacterial blooms (Salina Preta, black-water lake). The dominant bacterial species in the Salina Verde bloom was Anabaenopsis elenkinii. This cyanobacterium altered local abiotic parameters such as pH, turbidity, and dissolved oxygen and consequently the overall structure of the microbial community. In Salina Preta, the microbial community had a more structured taxonomic profile. Therefore, the distribution of metabolic functions in Salina Preta community encompassed a large number of taxa, whereas, in Salina Verde, the functional potential was restrained across a specific set of taxa. Distinct signatures in the abundance of genes associated with the cycling of carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur were found. Interestingly, genes linked to arsenic resistance metabolism were present at higher abundance in Salina Verde and they were associated with the cyanobacterial bloom. Collectively, this study advances fundamental knowledge on the composition and genetic potential of microbial communities inhabiting tropical soda lakes. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 13/20142-4 - Bacterial diversity in alkaline-saline lakes of the Pantanal of Nhecolândia-MS
• Grantee: Gabriela Machineski da Silva
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• FAPESP's process: 13/09192-0 - Saline lakes in the Pantanal of Nhecolândia: Hydro-bio-geochemistry of a singular wetland
• Grantee: Laurent BARBIERO
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 13/50425-8 - Biodiversity of cyanobacteria and their bioactive compounds from under-explored Brazilian habitats
• Grantee: Marli de Fátima Fiore
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants