We investigated methane oxidation in the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) of the eastern tropical North Pacific (ETNP) off central Mexico. Methane concentrations in the anoxic core of the OMZ reached ~ 20 nmol L−1at off shelf sites and 34 nmol L−1at a shelf site. Rates of methane oxidation were determined in ship‐board incubations with3H‐labeled methane at O2concentrations 0–75 nmol L−1. In vertical profiles at off‐shelf stations, highest rates were found between the secondary nitrite maximum at ~ 130 m and the methane maximum at 300–400 m in the anoxic core. Methane oxidation was inhibited by addition of 1
Chemoautotrophic bacteria from the SUP05 clade often dominate anoxic waters within marine oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) where they use energy gained from the oxidation of reduced sulfur to fuel carbon fixation. Some of these SUP05 bacteria are facultative aerobes that can use either nitrate or oxygen as a terminal electron acceptor making them ideally suited to thrive at the boundaries of OMZs where they experience fluctuations in dissolved oxygen (DO). SUP05 metabolism in these regions, and therefore the biogeochemical function of SUP05, depends largely on their sensitivity to oxygen. We evaluated growth and quantified differences in gene expression in
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10367728
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Environmental Microbiology
- Volume:
- 23
- Issue:
- 6
- ISSN:
- 1462-2912
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- p. 2823-2833
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
Abstract μ mol L−1oxygen, which, together with the depth distribution, indicated an anaerobic pathway. A coupling to nitrite reduction was further indicated by the inhibitory effect of the nitric oxide scavenger 2‐phenyl‐4,4,5,5‐tetramethylimidazoline‐1‐oxyl‐3‐oxide (PTIO). Metatranscriptomes from the anoxic OMZ core supported the likely involvement of nitrite‐reducing bacteria of the NC10 clade in anaerobic methane oxidation, but also indicated a potential role for nitrate‐reducing euryarchaeotal methane oxidizers (ANME‐2d). Gammaproteobacteria of the Methanococcales were further detected in both 16S rRNA gene amplicons and metatranscriptomes, but the role of these presumed obligately aerobic methane oxidizers in the anoxic OMZ core is unclear. Given available estimates of water residence time, the measured rates and rate constants (up to ~ 1 yr−1) imply that anaerobic methane oxidation is a substantial methane sink in the ETNP OMZ and hence attenuates the emission of methane from this and possibly other OMZs. -
Abstract Fixed nitrogen limits primary productivity in most areas of the surface ocean. Nitrite oxidation is the main source of nitrate, the most abundant form of inorganic fixed nitrogen. Even though known as an aerobic process, nitrite oxidation is not always stimulated by increased oxygen concentration, and nitrite oxidation occurs in layers of oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) where oxygen is not detectable. Nitrite‐oxidizing bacteria, known since their original isolation as aerobes, were also detected in these layers. Whether and how nitrite oxidation is occurring in the anoxic seawater is debated. Here, we reassess recent advances in marine nitrite oxidation in OMZ regions using previous work and new data sets we collected in two Pacific OMZs. We analyze the complex relationship between nitrite oxidation and oxygen. We discuss potential mechanisms explaining nitrite oxidation in different layers of OMZs based on recent findings and propose future directions to resolve the controversial question of apparently anaerobic nitrite oxidation in anoxic layers.
-
Abstract Oceanic oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) are globally significant sites of biogeochemical cycling where microorganisms deplete dissolved oxygen (DO) to concentrations <20 µM. Amid intense competition for DO in these metabolically challenging environments, aerobic nitrite oxidation may consume significant amounts of DO and help maintain low DO concentrations, but this remains unquantified. Using parallel measurements of oxygen consumption rates and15N-nitrite oxidation rates applied to both water column profiles and oxygen manipulation experiments, we show that the contribution of nitrite oxidation to overall DO consumption systematically increases as DO declines below 2 µM. Nitrite oxidation can account for all DO consumption only under DO concentrations <393 nM found in and below the secondary chlorophyll maximum. These patterns are consistent across sampling stations and experiments, reflecting coupling between nitrate reduction and nitrite-oxidizing
Nitrospina with high oxygen affinity (based on isotopic and omic data). Collectively our results demonstrate that nitrite oxidation plays a pivotal role in the maintenance and biogeochemical dynamics of OMZs. -
null (Ed.)The Eastern Tropical North Pacific (ETNP) is a large, persistent, and intensifying oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) that accounts for almost half of the total area of global OMZs. Within the OMZ core (350–700 m depth), dissolved oxygen is typically near or below the analytical detection limit of modern sensors (10 nM). Steep oxygen gradients above and below the OMZ core lead to vertical structuring of microbial communities that also vary between particle-associated (PA) and free-living (FL) size fractions. Here, we use 16S amplicon sequencing (iTags) to analyze the diversity and distribution of prokaryotic populations between FL and PA size fractions and among the range of ambient redox conditions. The hydrographic conditions at our study area were distinct from those previously reported in the ETNP and other OMZs, such as the ETSP. Trace oxygen concentrations (0.35 mM) were present throughout the OMZ core at our sampling location. Consequently, nitrite accumulations typically reported for OMZ cores were absent as were sequences for anammox bacteria (Brocadiales genus Candidatus Scalindua), which are commonly found across oxic-anoxic boundaries in other systems. However, ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and archaea (AOA) distributions and maximal autotrophic carbon assimilation rates (1.4 mM C d1) coincided with a pronounced ammonium concentration maximum near the top of the OMZ core. In addition, members of the genus Nitrospina, a dominant nitrite-oxidizing bacterial (NOB) clade were present suggesting that both ammonia and nitrite oxidation occur at trace oxygen concentrations. Analysis of similarity test (ANOSIM) and Non-metric Dimensional Scaling (nMDS) revealed that bacterial and archaeal phylogenetic representations were significantly different between size fractions. Based on ANOSIM and iTag profiles, composition of PA assemblages was less influenced by the prevailing depth-dependent biogeochemical regime than the FL fraction. Based on the presence of AOA, NOB and trace oxygen in the OMZ core we suggest that nitrification is an active process in the nitrogen cycle of this region of the ETNP OMZ.more » « less
-
Dubilier, Nicole (Ed.)
ABSTRACT Prochlorococcus is an abundant photosynthetic bacterium in the open ocean, where nitrogen (N) often limits phytoplankton growth. In the low-light-adapted LLI clade ofProchlorococcus , nearly all cells can assimilate nitrite (NO2−), with a subset capable of assimilating nitrate (NO3−). LLI cells are maximally abundant near the primary NO2−maximum layer, an oceanographic feature that may, in part, be due to incomplete assimilatory NO3−reduction and subsequent NO2−release by phytoplankton. We hypothesized that someProchlorococcus exhibit incomplete assimilatory NO3−reduction and examined NO2−accumulation in cultures of threeProchlorococcus strains (MIT0915, MIT0917, and SB) and twoSynechococcus strains (WH8102 and WH7803). Only MIT0917 and SB accumulated external NO2−during growth on NO3−. Approximately 20–30% of the NO3−transported into the cell by MIT0917 was released as NO2−, with the rest assimilated into biomass. We further observed that co-cultures using NO3−as the sole N source could be established for MIT0917 andProchlorococcus strain MIT1214 that can assimilate NO2−but not NO3−. In these co-cultures, the NO2−released by MIT0917 is efficiently consumed by its partner strain, MIT1214. Our findings highlight the potential for emergent metabolic partnerships that are mediated by the production and consumption of N cycle intermediates withinProchlorococcus populations.IMPORTANCE Earth’s biogeochemical cycles are substantially driven by microorganisms and their interactions. Given that N often limits marine photosynthesis, we investigated the potential for N cross-feeding within populations of
Prochlorococcus , the numerically dominant photosynthetic cell in the subtropical open ocean. In laboratory cultures, someProchlorococcus cells release extracellular NO2−during growth on NO3−. In the wild,Prochlorococcus populations are composed of multiple functional types, including those that cannot use NO3−but can still assimilate NO2−. We show that metabolic dependencies arise whenProchlorococcus strains with complementary NO2−production and consumption phenotypes are grown together on NO3−. These findings demonstrate the potential for emergent metabolic partnerships, possibly modulating ocean nutrient gradients, that are mediated by cross-feeding of N cycle intermediates.