Publications

4372

Summary An anaerobic enrichment with CO from sediments of hypersaline soda lakes resulted in a methane‐forming binary culture, whereby CO was utilized by a bacterium and not the methanogenic partner. The bacterial isolate ANCO1 forms a deep‐branching phylogenetic lineage at the level of a new family within the class ‘ Natranaerobiia ’. It is an extreme haloalkaliphilic and moderate thermophilic acetogen utilizing CO, formate, pyruvate and lactate as electron donors and thiosulfate, nitrate (reduced to ammonia) and fumarate as electron acceptors. The genome of ANCO1 encodes a full Wood–Ljungdahl pathway allowing for CO oxidation and acetogenic conversion of pyruvate. A locus encoding Nap nitrate reductase/NrfA ammonifying nitrite reductase is also present. Thiosulfate respiration is encoded by a Phs/Psr‐like operon. The organism obviously relies on Na‐based bioenergetics, since the genome encodes for the Na + ‐Rnf complex, Na + ‐F1F0 ATPase and Na + ‐translocating decarboxylase. Glycine betaine serves as a compatible solute. ANCO1 has an unusual membrane polar lipid composition dominated by diethers, more common among archaea, probably a result of adaptation to multiple extremophilic conditions. Overall, ANCO1 represents a unique example of a triple extremophilic CO‐oxidizing anaerobe and is classified as a novel genus and species Natranaerofaba carboxydovora in a novel family Natranaerofabacea .

Summary Large amounts of detrital organic matter and osmolytes accumulate in the sediments of hadal trenches (>6000 m depth) due to the funnelling effect. It is still unknown whether there are novel active microbes that depend on specific carbon sources in extreme and isolated environments. In this study, we present a novel active bacterial phylum, Candidatus Tianyabacteria in the FCB superphylum, which was enriched in sediments collected from the Challenger Deep. Genome binning resulted in high‐quality Ca . Tianyabacteria genomes representing two Ca . Tianyabacteria lineages (L1 and L2) in sediments 0–21 cm below the surface (cmbsf); L1 tends to be abundant in the upper layers (0–9 cmbsf), and L2 seems to be more prevalent in the deeper layers (12–21 cmbsf). Gene annotation and transcriptomics results indicate that the two lineages might import and catalyse amino acids and myo‐inositol into central carbon metabolism for a heterotrophic lifestyle. Probably due to differences in environmental oxygen levels, the L2 genomes harbour gene clusters responsible for denitrification and fermentation, while the L1 genomes encode octahaem cytochrome c and multicopper oxidase using unknown substrates. The Ca . Tianyabacteria are thus novel heterotrophic organisms that participate in processes of carbon, nitrogen and organic osmolyte cycling in hadal sediments.

Abstract Na.no.ha.lo'bi.um. Gr. masc. n. nanos a dwarf; Gr. masc. n. hals , halos salt; Gr. masc. n. bios life; N.L. neut. n. Nanohalobium small organism living in salt. The genus Candidatus Nanohalobium was established based on a genome sequence found after the enrichment, cultivation, and characterization of a binary association with its chitinolytic host, obtained from a crystallizer pond brine collected in the marine solar saltern Saline della Laguna of Trapani, Italy. Ca . Nanohalobium is phylogenetically affiliated with members of the Ca . Nanohaloarchaeota ( Candidatus Haloredivivus, Candidatus Nanosalina, and Candidatus Nanosalinicola) of the archaeal DPANN superphylum. Cultivation experiments and analysis of the 0.97 Mb genome of Ca . Nanohalobium constans LC1Nh revealed that the organism has an organoheterotrophic, sugar‐fermenting lifestyle, lacking key anabolic machinery and any respiratory complexes. Additionally, the cultivation experiments revealed a remarkable mutualism of a nanohaloarchaeon–haloarchaeon association, namely the nanohaloarchaeon's ability to hydrolyze glycogen and starch to glucose, enabling the growth of Halomicrobium sp. LC1Hm in the absence of chitin. The low‐median isoelectric point for the predicted proteins suggests a “salt‐in” strategy used by the nanohaloarchaeon for osmotic balance. 16S rRNA gene sequences affiliated with Ca . Nanohalobium were recovered from other saltern ponds and hypersaline lakes worldwide. DNA G + C content (mol%) : 43.2 (genome). Type species : Candidatus Nanohalobium constans , La Cono et al. 2020. Taxonomic and Nomenclature Notes According to the List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature (LPSN), the taxonomic status of the genus Candidatus Nanohalobium is: preferred name (not correct name) (last update, February 2025) * . LPSN classification: Archaea / Nanobdellati / Candidatus Nanohalarchaeota / Candidatus Nanohalobiia / Candidatus Nanohalobiales / Candidatus Nanohalobiaceae / Candidatus Nanohalobium The genus Candidatus Nanohalobium can also be recovered in the Genome Taxonomy Database (GTDB) as g__Nanohalobium (version v220) ** . GTDB classification: d__Archaea / p__Nanohaloarchaeota / c__Nanosalinia / o__Nanosalinales / f__Nanosalinaceae / g__Nanohalobium * Meier‐Kolthoff et al. ( 2022 ). Nucleic Acids Res , 50 , D801 – D807 ; DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkab902 ** Parks et al. ( 2022 ). Nucleic Acids Res , 50 , D785 – D794 ; DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkab776