School of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.
mSphere. 2019 Aug 28;4(4):e00378-19. doi: 10.1128/mSphere.00378-19.
We report the first census of natural microbial communities of the Bonneville Salt Flats (BSF), a perennial salt pan at the Utah-Nevada border. Environmental DNA sequencing of archaeal and bacterial 16S rRNA genes was conducted on samples from multiple evaporite sediment layers collected from the upper 30 cm of the surface salt crust. Our results show that at the time of sampling (September 2016), BSF hosted a robust microbial community dominated by diverse halobacteria and species. Sequences identical to sp. strain PCC 9228, an anoxygenic cyanobacterium that uses sulfide as the electron donor for photosynthesis, are also abundant in many samples. We identified taxonomic groups enriched in each layer of the salt crust sediment and revealed that the upper gypsum sediment layer found immediately under the uppermost surface halite contains a robust microbial community. In these sediments, we found an increased presence of , , , , , , , and This study provides insight into the diversity, spatial heterogeneity, and geologic context of a surprisingly complex microbial ecosystem within this macroscopically sterile landscape. Pleistocene Lake Bonneville, which covered a third of Utah, desiccated approximately 13,000 years ago, leaving behind the Bonneville Salt Flats (BSF) in the Utah West Desert. The potash salts that saturate BSF basin are extracted and sold as an additive for agricultural fertilizers. The salt crust is a well-known recreational and economic commodity, but the biological interactions with the salt crust have not been studied. This study is the first geospatial analysis of microbially diverse populations at this site using cultivation-independent environmental DNA sequencing methods. Identification of the microbes present within this unique, dynamic, and valued sedimentary evaporite environment is an important step toward understanding the potential consequences of perturbations to the microbial ecology on the surrounding landscape and ecosystem.
我们报告了博纳维尔盐滩（BSF）自然微生物群落的首次普查结果，BSF 是犹他州和内华达州边界的一个常年盐滩。对从表面盐壳上层 30cm 采集的多个蒸发岩沉积物样本进行了古菌和细菌 16S rRNA 基因的环境 DNA 测序。我们的研究结果表明，在采样时（2016 年 9 月），BSF 拥有一个由多种嗜盐菌和 物种组成的丰富微生物群落。许多样本中也存在大量与 PCC 9228 菌株相同的序列，这是一种利用硫化物作为光合作用电子供体的非产氧蓝细菌。我们还确定了每个盐壳沉积物层中富集的分类群，并揭示了在最上层石盐下发现的上石膏沉积物层中存在一个丰富的微生物群落。在这些沉积物中，我们发现了 、 、 、 、 、 和 的增加。本研究深入了解了这个在宏观无菌景观中存在的复杂微生物生态系统的多样性、空间异质性和地质背景。大约 13000 年前，曾覆盖犹他州三分之一面积的更新世博纳维尔湖干涸，留下了犹他州西部沙漠中的博纳维尔盐滩（BSF）。饱和 BSF 盆地的钾盐被提取并作为农业肥料的添加剂出售。盐壳是一种众所周知的休闲和经济商品，但尚未对其与盐壳的生物相互作用进行研究。本研究是首次使用非培养环境 DNA 测序方法对该地点微生物多样性种群进行的地理空间分析。鉴定存在于这种独特、动态和有价值的沉积蒸发岩环境中的微生物是了解对周围景观和生态系统的微生物生态产生干扰的潜在后果的重要步骤。
