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Published January 2017 | Accepted Version + Supplemental Material
Journal Article Open

Starvation and recovery in the deep-sea methanotroph Methyloprofundus sedimenti

Abstract

In the deep ocean, the conversion of methane into derived carbon and energy drives the establishment of diverse faunal communities. Yet specific biological mechanisms underlying the introduction of methane-derived carbon into the food web remain poorly described, due to a lack of cultured representative deep-sea methanotrophic prokaryotes. Here, the response of the deep-sea aerobic methanotroph Methyloprofundus sedimenti to methane starvation and recovery was characterized. By combining lipid analysis, RNA analysis, and electron cryotomography, it was shown that M. sedimenti undergoes discrete cellular shifts in response to methane starvation, including changes in headgroup-specific fatty acid saturation levels, and reductions in cytoplasmic storage granules. Methane starvation is associated with a significant increase in the abundance of gene transcripts pertinent to methane oxidation. Methane reintroduction to starved cells stimulates a rapid, transient extracellular accumulation of methanol, revealing a way in which methane-derived carbon may be routed to community members. This study provides new understanding of methanotrophic responses to methane starvation and recovery, and lays the initial groundwork to develop Methyloprofundus as a model chemosynthesizing bacterium from the deep sea.

Additional Information

© 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Issue online: 6 January 2017; Version of record online: 22 November 2016; Accepted manuscript online: 14 October 2016; Manuscript Accepted: 8 October 2016. GC-FID measurements were performed in the Environmental Analysis Center at Caltech. We thank Paul Magyar for assistance with GC-FID, and Songye Chen for assistance segmenting crytomographic files. Special thanks for electron microscopy support from Dr. Alasdair McDowall, Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The Caltech electron microscopy facility is supported in part by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Agouron Institute and the Beckman Foundation. Funding for this work was provided by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (GBMF3780, VJO; GBMF3811, ND) and the National Science Foundation (OCE-1046144, DLV; EAR-0950600, MYK).

Attached Files

Accepted Version - Tavormina_et_al-2016-Molecular_Microbiology.pdf

Supplemental Material - mmi13553-sup-0001-SuppMov01.mov

Supplemental Material - mmi13553-sup-0002-SuppMov02.mov

Supplemental Material - mmi13553-sup-0003-SuppInfo.pdf

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Created:
August 22, 2023
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October 23, 2023