Nutrient supplementation experiments with saltern microbial communities implicate utilization of DNA as a source of phosphorus
Open Access
- 12 April 2021
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in The ISME Journal
- Vol. 15 (10), 2853-2864
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41396-021-00960-8
Abstract
All environments including hypersaline ones harbor measurable concentrations of dissolved extracellular DNA (eDNA) that can be utilized by microbes as a nutrient. However, it remains poorly understood which eDNA components are used, and who in a community utilizes it. For this study, we incubated a saltern microbial community with combinations of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and DNA, and tracked the community response in each microcosm treatment via 16S rRNA and rpoB gene sequencing. We show that microbial communities used DNA only as a phosphorus source, and provision of other sources of carbon and nitrogen was needed to exhibit a substantial growth. The taxonomic composition of eDNA in the water column changed with the availability of inorganic phosphorus or supplied DNA, hinting at preferential uptake of eDNA from specific organismal sources. Especially favored for growth was eDNA from the most abundant taxa, suggesting some haloarchaea prefer eDNA from closely related taxa. The preferential eDNA consumption and differential growth under various nutrient availability regimes were associated with substantial shifts in the taxonomic composition and diversity of microcosm communities. Therefore, we conjecture that in salterns the microbial community assembly is driven by the available resources, including eDNA.Keywords
Funding Information
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NNX15AM09G)
- Simons Foundation (327936)
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NNX15AM09G)
- Simons Foundation (327936)
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