Centre for Ecology and Evolution in Microbial Model Systems (EEMiS), Linnaeus University, Stuvaregatan 4, 392 31, Kalmar, Sweden.
Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Granada, Avenida Fuentenueva s/n, 18071, Granada, Spain.
NPJ Biofilms Microbiomes. 2023 Jun 22;9(1):41. doi: 10.1038/s41522-023-00408-1.
Biofilm formation is a common adaptation for microbes in energy-limited conditions such as those prevalent in the vast deep terrestrial biosphere. However, due to the low biomass and the inaccessible nature of subsurface groundwaters, the microbial populations and genes involved in its formation are understudied. Here, a flow-cell system was designed to investigate biofilm formation under in situ conditions in two groundwaters of contrasting age and geochemistry at the Äspö Hard Rock Laboratory, Sweden. Metatranscriptomes showed Thiobacillus, Sideroxydans, and Desulforegula to be abundant and together accounted for 31% of the transcripts in the biofilm communities. Differential expression analysis highlighted Thiobacillus to have a principal role in biofilm formation in these oligotrophic groundwaters by being involved in relevant processes such as the formation of extracellular matrix, quorum sensing, and cell motility. The findings revealed an active biofilm community with sulfur cycling as a prominent mode of energy conservation in the deep biosphere.
生物膜的形成是微生物在能量有限的环境中的一种常见适应方式，例如在广阔的深层陆地生物圈中普遍存在的环境。然而，由于地下水中生物量低且难以接近，因此参与其形成的微生物种群和基因研究较少。在这里，设计了一种流动池系统，以在瑞典 Äspö 硬岩实验室具有不同年龄和地球化学特征的两种地下水中原位条件下研究生物膜的形成。宏转录组显示，硫杆菌属、铁氧化亚铁还原菌属和脱硫弧菌属丰度较高，共占生物膜群落中转录本的 31%。差异表达分析突出表明，硫杆菌属通过参与与生物膜形成相关的过程，如细胞外基质的形成、群体感应和细胞运动，在这些贫营养地下水中的生物膜形成中发挥主要作用。研究结果揭示了一个活跃的生物膜群落，以硫循环作为深层生物圈中一种突出的能量守恒模式。
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