Metagenome of a Versatile Chemolithoautotroph from Expanding Oceanic Dead Zones

Walsh, David A.
Zaikova, Elena
Howes, Charles G.
Song, Young C.
Wright, Jody J.
Tringe, Susannah G.
Tortell, Philippe D.
Hallam, Steven J.

¹Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada. ²Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Walnut Creek, CA 94598, USA. ³Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada. ⁴Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada. ⁵University of British Columbia Graduate Program in Bioinformatics, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada.
^*To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: [email protected]

Supporting Online Material

www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/326/5952/578/DC1

Materials and Methods

SOM Text

Figs. S1 to S7

Tables S1 to S4

References

22 April 2009; accepted 2 September 2009

10.1126/science.1175309

Science 326(5952):p 578-582, October 23, 2009.

Oxygen minimum zones, also known as oceanic “dead zones,” are widespread oceanographic features currently expanding because of global warming. Although inhospitable to metazoan life, they support a cryptic microbiota whose metabolic activities affect nutrient and trace gas cycling within the global ocean. Here, we report metagenomic analyses of a ubiquitous and abundant but uncultivated oxygen minimum zone microbe (SUP05) related to chemoautotrophic gill symbionts of deep-sea clams and mussels. The SUP05 metagenome harbors a versatile repertoire of genes mediating autotrophic carbon assimilation, sulfur oxidation, and nitrate respiration responsive to a wide range of water-column redox states. Our analysis provides a genomic foundation for understanding the ecological and biogeochemical role of pelagic SUP05 in oxygen-deficient oceanic waters and its potential sensitivity to environmental changes.