Abstract
To probe the metabolic potential of abundant Archaea in boreal peats, we reconstructed two near-complete archaeal genomes, affiliated with Thaumarchaeota group 1.1c (bin Fn1, 8% abundance), which was a genomically unrepresented group, and Thermoplasmata (bin Bg1, 26% abundance), from metagenomic data acquired from deep anoxic peat layers. Each of the near-complete genomes encodes the potential to degrade long-chain fatty acids (LCFA) via β-oxidation. Fn1 has the potential to oxidize LCFA either by syntrophic interaction with methanogens or by coupling oxidation with anaerobic respiration using fumarate as a terminal electron acceptor (TEA). Fn1 is the first Thaumarchaeota genome without an identifiable carbon fixation pathway, indicating that this mesophilic phylum encompasses more diverse metabolisms than previously thought. Furthermore, we report genetic evidence suggestive of sulfite and/or organosulfonate reduction by Thermoplasmata Bg1. In deep peat, inorganic TEAs are often depleted to extremely low levels, yet the anaerobic respiration predicted for two abundant archaeal members suggests organic electron acceptors such as fumarate and organosulfonate (enriched in humic substances) may be important for respiration and C mineralization in peatlands.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Randall K. Kolka, USDA Forest Service, Paul J. Hanson, Colleen Iversen and other members of the SPRUCE project team for facilitating access to the Marcell Experimental Forest and the SPRUCE experimental facilities, and for helping with sample handling and laboratory space support. We thank P. Chanton and K. Esson for peat soil sampling, and S. Owens for the Illumina library preparation and sequencing. We acknowledge the University of Chicago Research Computing Center for support of this work. This work was supported by the Office of Biological and Environmental Research, Terrestrial Ecosystem Science Program, under U.S. DOE contracts DE-SC0007144 and DE-SC0012088, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF-EAR-0628349), and in part by the U.S. DOE contract DE-AC02-06CH11357. We wish to thank the generous support of the Alfred P Sloan Foundation.
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Lin, X., Handley, K., Gilbert, J. et al. Metabolic potential of fatty acid oxidation and anaerobic respiration by abundant members of Thaumarchaeota and Thermoplasmata in deep anoxic peat. ISME J 9, 2740–2744 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/ismej.2015.77
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ismej.2015.77
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