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Crystal Geyser CO2-Rich Aquifer Autotrophic CPR Lysolipid Community

Community ID CommunityMech:000252
Ecological State STABLE
Environment deep CO2-rich subsurface aquifer
ENVO:01001004

A deep CO2-rich subsurface aquifer community below the Colorado Plateau, sampled from groundwater brought to the surface by eruptions of Crystal Geyser. Coupled lipidomic and metagenomic analyses show that bacterial and archaeal CO2 fixation in the deep subsurface provides the organic carbon pool, supporting an autotrophy-based deep biosphere. Candidate Phyla Radiation (CPR) bacterial putative symbionts lack complete lipid biosynthesis pathways but still possess regular lipid membranes, which may originate from other community members; these other members also adapt to high in situ pressure by increasing fatty acid unsaturation. An unusually high abundance of lysolipids attributed to CPR bacteria may represent an adaptation to membrane curvature stress induced by their small cell sizes.

Taxonomy

Taxon Ontology ID Functional Roles Abundance
deep-aquifer CPR bacteria NCBITaxon:1783234
SYNTROPHIC_PARTNER
N/A
  • PMID:32203118 - SUPPORT (IN_VIVO)
    "Candidate Phyla Radiation (CPR) bacteria that are putative symbionts unable to synthesize membrane lipids"
deep-aquifer CO2-fixing bacteria and archaea NCBITaxon:131567
PRIMARY_PRODUCER
N/A
  • PMID:32203118 - SUPPORT (IN_VIVO)
    "bacterial and archaeal CO2 fixation ongoing in the deep subsurface provides organic carbon"

Ecological Interactions

Ecological interaction network for Crystal Geyser CO2-Rich Aquifer Autotrophic CPR Lysolipid Community Bipartite graph where circle nodes represent taxa and colored rectangles represent ecological interactions (cross-feeding, mutualism, syntrophy, competition, commensalism).
Taxon
Cross-feeding
Mutualism
Syntrophy
Competition
Commensalism
Niche partitioning
Colonization facilitation
Strain competition
Predation

Autotrophy-Based Deep Biosphere

CROSS_FEEDING

Metabolites: carbon dioxide (CHEBI:16526)

Biological Processes:

Evidence

  • PMID:32203118 - SUPPORT (IN_VIVO)
    "bacterial and archaeal CO2 fixation ongoing in the deep subsurface provides organic carbon for the complex communities that reside there"

Lipid Redistribution to CPR Symbionts

SYNTROPHY

Source Taxon: deep-aquifer CO2-fixing bacteria and archaea

Target Taxon: deep-aquifer CPR bacteria

Evidence

  • PMID:32203118 - SUPPORT (IN_VIVO)
    "CPR bacteria lack complete lipid biosynthesis pathways but still possess regular lipid membranes"
  • PMID:32203118 - SUPPORT (IN_VIVO)
    "adapt to high in situ pressure by increasing fatty acid unsaturation"

CPR Lysolipid Enrichment as Curvature Adaptation

COMMENSALISM

Evidence

  • PMID:32203118 - SUPPORT (IN_VIVO)
    "An unusually high abundance of lysolipids attributed to CPR bacteria may represent an adaptation to membrane curvature stress induced by their small cell sizes"

External Resources

Name Repository Resource ID
Primary publication for the Crystal Geyser CPR lipid community
PubMed record for the Probst et al. 2020 ISME J paper. 		OTHER PMID:32203118
  • PMID:32203118 - SUPPORT (IN_VIVO)
    "Lipid analysis of CO(2)-rich subsurface aquifers suggests an autotrophy-based deep biosphere with lysolipids enriched in CPR bacteria"
DOI landing page
DOI link to the ISME J paper. 		OTHER doi:10.1038/s41396-020-0624-4

Environmental Factors

Factor Value Unit
Aquifer chemistry CO2-rich Colorado Plateau aquifers N/A
  • PMID:32203118 - SUPPORT (IN_VIVO)
    "Sediment-hosted CO2-rich aquifers deep below the Colorado Plateau"
Sampling vehicle Crystal Geyser eruptions N/A
  • PMID:32203118 - SUPPORT (IN_VIVO)
    "deep groundwater brought to the surface by eruptions of Crystal Geyser"