A unique subseafloor microbiosphere in the Mariana Trench driven by episodic sedimentation.

Hadal trenches are characterized by enhanced and infrequent high-rate episodic sedimentation events that likely introduce not only labile organic carbon and key nutrients but also new microbes that significantly alter the subseafloor microbiosphere. Currently, the role of high-rate episodic sedimentation in controlling the composition of the hadal subseafloor microbiosphere is unknown. Here, analyses of carbon isotope composition in a ~ 750 cm long sediment core from the Challenger Deep revealed noncontinuous deposition, with anomalous 14C ages likely caused by seismically driven mass transport and the funneling effect of trench geomorphology. Microbial community composition and diverse enzyme activities in the upper ~ 27 cm differed from those at lower depths, probably due to sudden sediment deposition and differences in redox condition and organic matter availability. At lower depths, microbial population numbers, and composition remained relatively constant, except at some discrete depths with altered enzyme activity and microbial phyla abundance, possibly due to additional sudden sedimentation events of different magnitude. Evidence is provided of a unique role for high-rate episodic sedimentation events in controlling the subsurface microbiosphere in Earth's deepest ocean floor and highlight the need to perform thorough analysis over a large depth range to characterize hadal benthic populations. Such depositional processes are likely crucial in shaping deep-water geochemical environments and thereby the deep subseafloor biosphere. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42995-023-00212-y.

SAR92 clade bacteria are potentially important DMSP degraders and sources of climate-active gases in marine environments.

Dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) is one of Earth's most abundant organosulfur molecules, which can be catabolized by marine bacteria to release climate-active gases through the cleavage and/or demethylation pathways. The marine SAR92 clade is an abundant oligotrophic group of Gammaproteobacteria in coastal seawater, but their ability to catabolize DMSP is untested. Three SAR92 clade strains isolated from coastal seawater in this study and the SAR92 representative strain HTCC2207 were all shown to catabolize DMSP as a carbon source. All the SAR92 clade strains exhibited DMSP lyase activity producing dimethylsulfide (DMS) and their genomes encoded a ratified DddD DMSP lyase. In contrast, only HTCC2207 and two isolated strains contained the DMSP demethylase dmdA gene and potentially simultaneously demethylated and cleaved DMSP to produce methanethiol (MeSH) and DMS. In SAR92 clade strains with dddD and dmdA, transcription of these genes was inducible by DMSP substrate. Bioinformatic analysis indicated that SAR92 clade bacteria containing and transcribing DddD and DmdA were widely distributed in global oceans, especially in polar regions. This study highlights the SAR92 clade of oligotrophic bacteria as potentially important catabolizers of DMSP and sources of the climate-active gases MeSH and DMS in marine environments, particularly in polar regions.IMPORTANCECatabolism of dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) by marine bacteria has important impacts on the global sulfur cycle and climate. However, whether and how members of most oligotrophic bacterial groups participate in DMSP metabolism in marine environments remains largely unknown. In this study, by characterizing culturable strains, we have revealed that bacteria of the SAR92 clade, an abundant oligotrophic group of Gammaproteobacteria in coastal seawater, can catabolize DMSP through the DMSP lyase DddD-mediated cleavage pathway and/or the DMSP demethylase DmdA-mediated demethylation pathway to produce climate-active gases dimethylsulfide and methanethiol. Additionally, we found that SAR92 clade bacteria capable of catabolizing DMSP are widely distributed in global oceans. These results indicate that SAR92 clade bacteria are potentially important DMSP degraders and sources of climate-active gases in marine environments that have been overlooked, contributing to a better understanding of the roles and mechanisms of the oligotrophic bacteria in oceanic DMSP degradation.

DMSOP-cleaving enzymes are diverse and widely distributed in marine microorganisms.

Dimethylsulfoxonium propionate (DMSOP) is a recently identified and abundant marine organosulfur compound with roles in oxidative stress protection, global carbon and sulfur cycling and, as shown here, potentially in osmotolerance. Microbial DMSOP cleavage yields dimethyl sulfoxide, a ubiquitous marine metabolite, and acrylate, but the enzymes responsible, and their environmental importance, were unknown. Here we report DMSOP cleavage mechanisms in diverse heterotrophic bacteria, fungi and phototrophic algae not previously known to have this activity, and highlight the unappreciated importance of this process in marine sediment environments. These diverse organisms, including Roseobacter, SAR11 bacteria and Emiliania huxleyi, utilized their dimethylsulfoniopropionate lyase 'Ddd' or 'Alma' enzymes to cleave DMSOP via similar catalytic mechanisms to those for dimethylsulfoniopropionate. Given the annual teragram predictions for DMSOP production and its prevalence in marine sediments, our results highlight that DMSOP cleavage is likely a globally significant process influencing carbon and sulfur fluxes and ecological interactions.

Stabilisation of the RirA [4Fe-4S] cluster results in loss of iron-sensing function.

RirA is a global iron regulator in diverse Alphaproteobacteria that belongs to the Rrf2 superfamily of transcriptional regulators, which can contain an iron-sulfur (Fe-S) cluster. Under iron-replete conditions, RirA contains a [4Fe-4S] cluster, enabling high-affinity binding to RirA-regulated operator sequences, thereby causing the repression of cellular iron uptake. Under iron deficiency, one of the cluster irons dissociates, generating an unstable [3Fe-4S] form that subsequently degrades to a [2Fe-2S] form and then to apo RirA, resulting in loss of high-affinity DNA-binding. The cluster is coordinated by three conserved cysteine residues and an unknown fourth ligand. Considering the lability of one of the irons and the resulting cluster fragility, we hypothesized that the fourth ligand may not be an amino acid residue. To investigate this, we considered that the introduction of an amino acid residue that could coordinate the cluster might stabilize it. A structural model of RirA, based on the Rrf2 family nitrosative stress response regulator NsrR, highlighted residue 8, an Asn in the RirA sequence, as being appropriately positioned to coordinate the cluster. Substitution of Asn8 with Asp, the equivalent, cluster-coordinating residue of NsrR, or with Cys, resulted in proteins that contained a [4Fe-4S] cluster, with N8D RirA exhibiting spectroscopic properties very similar to NsrR. The variant proteins retained the ability to bind RirA-regulated DNA, and could still act as repressors of RirA-regulated genes in vivo. However, they were significantly more stable than wild-type RirA when exposed to O2 and/or low iron. Importantly, they exhibited reduced capacity to respond to cellular iron levels, even abolished in the case of the N8D version, and thus were no longer iron sensing. This work demonstrates the importance of cluster fragility for the iron-sensing function of RirA, and more broadly, how a single residue substitution can alter cluster coordination and functional properties in the Rrf2 superfamily of regulators.

Deep-sea Bacteroidetes from the Mariana Trench specialize in hemicellulose and pectin degradation typically associated with terrestrial systems.

BACKGROUND: Hadal trenches (>6000 m) are the deepest oceanic regions on Earth and depocenters for organic materials. However, how these enigmatic microbial ecosystems are fueled is largely unknown, particularly the proportional importance of complex polysaccharides introduced through deposition from the photic surface waters above. In surface waters, Bacteroidetes are keystone taxa for the cycling of various algal-derived polysaccharides and the flux of carbon through the photic zone. However, their role in the hadal microbial loop is almost unknown. RESULTS: Here, culture-dependent and culture-independent methods were used to study the potential of Bacteroidetes to catabolize diverse polysaccharides in Mariana Trench waters. Compared to surface waters, the bathypelagic (1000-4000 m) and hadal (6000-10,500 m) waters harbored distinct Bacteroidetes communities, with Mesoflavibacter being enriched at ≥ 4000 m and Bacteroides and Provotella being enriched at 10,400-10,500 m. Moreover, these deep-sea communities possessed distinct gene pools encoding for carbohydrate active enzymes (CAZymes), suggesting different polysaccharide sources are utilised in these two zones. Compared to surface counterparts, deep-sea Bacteroidetes showed significant enrichment of CAZyme genes frequently organized into polysaccharide utilization loci (PULs) targeting algal/plant cell wall polysaccharides (i.e., hemicellulose and pectin), that were previously considered an ecological trait associated with terrestrial Bacteroidetes only. Using a hadal Mesoflavibacter isolate (MTRN7), functional validation of this unique genetic potential was demonstrated. MTRN7 could utilize pectic arabinans, typically associated with land plants and phototrophic algae, as the carbon source under simulated deep-sea conditions. Interestingly, a PUL we demonstrate is likely horizontally acquired from coastal/land Bacteroidetes was activated during growth on arabinan and experimentally shown to encode enzymes that hydrolyze arabinan at depth. CONCLUSIONS: Our study implies that hadal Bacteroidetes exploit polysaccharides poorly utilized by surface populations via an expanded CAZyme gene pool. We propose that sinking cell wall debris produced in the photic zone can serve as an important carbon source for hadal heterotrophs and play a role in shaping their communities and metabolism. Video Abstract.

Molecular discoveries in microbial DMSP synthesis.

Dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) is one of the Earth's most abundant organosulfur compounds because many marine algae, bacteria, corals and some plants produce it to high mM intracellular concentrations. In these organisms, DMSP acts an anti-stress molecule with purported roles to protect against salinity, temperature, oxidative stress and hydrostatic pressure, amongst many other reported functions. However, DMSP is best known for being a major precursor of the climate-active gases and signalling molecules dimethylsulfide (DMS), methanethiol (MeSH) and, potentially, methane, through microbial DMSP catabolism. DMSP catabolism has been extensively studied and the microbes, pathways and enzymes involved have largely been elucidated through the application of molecular research over the last 17 years. In contrast, the molecular biology of DMSP synthesis is a much newer field, with the first DMSP synthesis enzymes only being identified in the last 5 years. In this review, we discuss how the elucidation of key DMSP synthesis enzymes has greatly expanded our knowledge of the diversity of DMSP-producing organisms, the pathways used, and what environmental factors regulate production, as well as to inform on the physiological roles of DMSP. Importantly, the identification of key DMSP synthesis enzymes in the major groups of DMSP producers has allowed scientists to study the distribution and predict the importance of different DMSP-producing organisms to global DMSP production in diverse marine and sediment environments. Finally, we highlight key challenges for future molecular research into DMSP synthesis that need addressing to better understand the cycling of this important marine organosulfur compound, and its magnitude in the environment.

Dimethylsulfoniopropionate and its catabolites are important chemical signals mediating marine microbial interactions.

Dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) is a ubiquitous organosulfur compound with key ecological roles in marine environments. This paper offers a brief insight into the mechanisms, environmental diversity, and importance of DMSP-mediated marine microbial interactions, including algae-microzooplankton interactions, bacteria-microzooplankton interactions, and algae-bacteria interactions. We also highlight current challenges that warrant further investigation.

Aerobic methylation of hydrogen sulfide to dimethylsulfide in diverse microorganisms and environments.

Dimethylsulfide (DMS) is the major biosulfur source emitted to the atmosphere with key roles in global sulfur cycling and potentially climate regulation. The main precursor of DMS is thought to be dimethylsulfoniopropionate. However, hydrogen sulfide (H2S), a widely distributed and abundant volatile in natural environments, can be methylated to DMS. The microorganisms and the enzymes that convert H2S to DMS, and their importance in global sulfur cycling were unknown. Here we demonstrate that the bacterial MddA enzyme, previously known as a methanethiol S-methyltransferase, could methylate inorganic H2S to DMS. We determine key residues involved in MddA catalysis and propose the mechanism for H2S S-methylation. These results enabled subsequent identification of functional MddA enzymes in abundant haloarchaea and a diverse range of algae, thus expanding the significance of MddA mediated H2S methylation to other domains of life. Furthermore, we provide evidence for H2S S-methylation being a detoxification strategy in microorganisms. The mddA gene was abundant in diverse environments including marine sediments, lake sediments, hydrothermal vents and soils. Thus, the significance of MddA-driven methylation of inorganic H2S to global DMS production and sulfur cycling has likely been considerably underestimated.

A new dimethylsulfoniopropionate lyase of the cupin superfamily in marine bacteria.

Dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) is a marine organosulfur compound with important roles in stress protection, marine biogeochemical cycling, chemical signalling and atmospheric chemistry. Diverse marine microorganisms catabolize DMSP via DMSP lyases to generate the climate-cooling gas and info-chemical dimethyl sulphide. Abundant marine heterotrophs of the Roseobacter group (MRG) are well known for their ability to catabolize DMSP via diverse DMSP lyases. Here, a new DMSP lyase DddU within the MRG strain Amylibacter cionae H-12 and other related bacteria was identified. DddU is a cupin superfamily DMSP lyase like DddL, DddQ, DddW, DddK and DddY, but shares <15% amino acid sequence identity with these enzymes. Moreover, DddU proteins forms a distinct clade from these other cupin-containing DMSP lyases. Structural prediction and mutational analyses suggested that a conserved tyrosine residue is the key catalytic amino acid residue in DddU. Bioinformatic analysis indicated that the dddU gene, mainly from Alphaproteobacteria, is widely distributed in the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian and polar oceans. For reference, dddU is less abundant than dddP, dddQ and dddK, but much more frequent than dddW, dddY and dddL in marine environments. This study broadens our knowledge on the diversity of DMSP lyases, and enhances our understanding of marine DMSP biotransformation.

Ubiquitous occurrence of a dimethylsulfoniopropionate ABC transporter in abundant marine bacteria.

Dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) is a ubiquitous organosulfur compound in marine environments with important functions in both microorganisms and global biogeochemical carbon and sulfur cycling. The SAR11 clade and marine Roseobacter group (MRG) represent two major groups of heterotrophic bacteria in Earth's surface oceans, which can accumulate DMSP to high millimolar intracellular concentrations. However, few studies have investigated how SAR11 and MRG bacteria import DMSP. Here, through comparative genomics analyses, genetic manipulations, and biochemical analyses, we identified an ABC (ATP-binding cassette)-type DMSP-specific transporter, DmpXWV, in Ruegeria pomeroyi DSS-3, a model strain of the MRG. Mutagenesis suggested that DmpXWV is a key transporter responsible for DMSP uptake in strain DSS-3. DmpX, the substrate binding protein of DmpXWV, had high specificity and binding affinity towards DMSP. Furthermore, the DmpX DMSP-binding mechanism was elucidated from structural analysis. DmpX proteins are prevalent in the numerous cosmopolitan marine bacteria outside the SAR11 clade and the MRG, and dmpX transcription was consistently high across Earth's entire global ocean. Therefore, DmpXWV likely enables pelagic marine bacteria to efficiently import DMSP from seawater. This study offers a new understanding of DMSP transport into marine bacteria and provides novel insights into the environmental adaption of marine bacteria.

Aminolipids elicit functional trade-offs between competitiveness and bacteriophage attachment in Ruegeria pomeroyi.

Lipids play a crucial role in maintaining cell integrity and homeostasis with the surrounding environment. Cosmopolitan marine roseobacter clade (MRC) and SAR11 clade bacteria are unique in that, in addition to glycerophospholipids, they also produce an array of amino acid-containing lipids that are conjugated with beta-hydroxy fatty acids through an amide bond. Two of these aminolipids, the ornithine aminolipid (OL) and the glutamine aminolipid (QL), are synthesized using the O-acetyltransferase OlsA. Here, we demonstrate that OL and QL are present in both the inner and outer membranes of the Gram-negative MRC bacterium Ruegeria pomeroyi DSS-3. In an olsA mutant, loss of these aminolipids is compensated by a concurrent increase in glycerophospholipids. The inability to produce aminolipids caused significant changes in the membrane proteome, with the membrane being less permeable and key nutrient transporters being downregulated while proteins involved in the membrane stress response were upregulated. Indeed, the import of 14C-labelled choline and dimethylsulfoniopropionate, as a proxy for the transport of key marine nutrients across membranes, was significantly impaired in the olsA mutant. Moreover, the olsA mutant was significantly less competitive than the wild type (WT) being unable to compete with the WT strain in co-culture. However, the olsA mutant unable to synthesize these aminolipids is less susceptible to phage attachment. Together, these data reveal a critical role for aminolipids in the ecophysiology of this important clade of marine bacteria and a trade-off between growth and avoidance of bacteriophage attachment.

Quorum Sensing Regulates the Production of Methanethiol in Vibrio harveyi.

Methanethiol (MeSH) and dimethyl sulfide (DMS) are important volatile organic sulfur compounds involved in atmospheric chemistry and climate regulation. However, little is known about the metabolism of these compounds in the ubiquitous marine vibrios. Here, we investigated MeSH/DMS production and whether these processes were regulated by quorum-sensing (QS) systems in Vibrio harveyi BB120. V. harveyi BB120 exhibited strong MeSH production from methionine (Met) (465 nmol mg total protein-1) and weak DMS production from dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) cleavage. The homologs of MegL responsible for MeSH production from L-Met widely existed in vibrio genomes. Using BB120 and its nine QS mutants, we found that the MeSH production was regulated by HAI-1, AI-2 and CAI-1 QS pathways, as well as the luxO gene located in the center of this QS cascade. The regulation role of HAI-1 and AI-2 QS systems in MeSH production was further confirmed by applying quorum-quenching enzyme MomL and exogenous autoinducer AI-2. By contrast, the DMS production from DMSP cleavage showed no significant difference between BB120 and its QS mutants. Such QS-regulated MeSH production may help to remove excess Met that can be harmful for vibrio growth. These results emphasize the importance of QS systems and the MeSH production process in vibrios.

Characterisation of a soil MINPP phytase with remarkable long-term stability and activity from Acinetobacter sp.

Phylogenetic analysis, homology modelling and biochemical methods have been employed to characterize a phytase from a Gram-negative soil bacterium. Acinetobacter sp. AC1-2 phytase belongs to clade 2 of the histidine (acid) phytases, to the Multiple Inositol Polyphosphate Phosphatase (MINPP) subclass. The enzyme was extraordinarily stable in solution both at room temperature and 4°C, retaining near 100% activity over 755 days. It showed a broad pH activity profile from 2-8.5 with maxima at 3, 4.5-5 and 6. The enzyme showed Michaelis-Menten kinetics and substrate inhibition (Vmax, Km, and Ki, 228 U/mg, 0.65 mM and 2.23 mM, respectively). Homology modelling using the crystal structure of a homologous MINPP from a human gut commensal bacterium indicated the presence of a potentially stabilising polypeptide loop (a U-loop) straddling the active site. By employ of the enantiospecificity of Arabidopsis inositol tris/tetrakisphosphate kinase 1 for inositol pentakisphosphates, we show AC1-2 MINPP to possess D6-phytase activity, which allowed modelling of active site specificity pockets for InsP6 substrate. While phytase gene transcription was unaltered in rich media, it was repressed in minimal media with phytic acid and orthophosphate as phosphate sources. The results of this study reveal AC1-2 MINPP to possess desirable attributes relevant to biotechnological use.

Oceanospirillales containing the DMSP lyase DddD are key utilisers of carbon from DMSP in coastal seawater.

BACKGROUND: Ubiquitous and diverse marine microorganisms utilise the abundant organosulfur molecule dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP), the main precursor of the climate-active gas dimethylsulfide (DMS), as a source of carbon, sulfur and/or signalling molecules. However, it is currently difficult to discern which microbes actively catabolise DMSP in the environment, why they do so and the pathways used. RESULTS: Here, a novel DNA-stable isotope probing (SIP) approach, where only the propionate and not the DMS moiety of DMSP was 13C-labelled, was strategically applied to identify key microorganisms actively using DMSP and also likely DMS as a carbon source, and their catabolic enzymes, in North Sea water. Metagenomic analysis of natural seawater suggested that Rhodobacterales (Roseobacter group) and SAR11 bacteria were the major microorganisms degrading DMSP via demethylation and, to a lesser extent, DddP-driven DMSP lysis pathways. However, neither Rhodobacterales and SAR11 bacteria nor their DMSP catabolic genes were prominently labelled in DNA-SIP experiments, suggesting they use DMSP as a sulfur source and/or in signalling pathways, and not primarily for carbon requirements. Instead, DNA-SIP identified gammaproteobacterial Oceanospirillales, e.g. Amphritea, and their DMSP lyase DddD as the dominant microorganisms/enzymes using DMSP as a carbon source. Supporting this, most gammaproteobacterial (with DddD) but few alphaproteobacterial seawater isolates grew on DMSP as sole carbon source and produced DMS. Furthermore, our DNA-SIP strategy also identified Methylophaga and other Piscirickettsiaceae as key bacteria likely using the DMS, generated from DMSP lysis, as a carbon source. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to use DNA-SIP with 13C-labelled DMSP and, in a novel way, it identifies the dominant microbes utilising DMSP and DMS as carbon sources. It highlights that whilst metagenomic analyses of marine environments can predict microorganisms/genes that degrade DMSP and DMS based on their abundance, it cannot disentangle those using these important organosulfur compounds for their carbon requirements. Note, the most abundant DMSP degraders, e.g. Rhodobacterales with DmdA, are not always the key microorganisms using DMSP for carbon and releasing DMS, which in this coastal system were Oceanospirillales containing DddD. Video abstract.

Insights into methionine S-methylation in diverse organisms.

Dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) is an important marine anti-stress compound, with key roles in global nutrient cycling, chemotaxis and, potentially, climate regulation. Recently, diverse marine Actinobacteria, α- and γ-proteobacteria were shown to initiate DMSP synthesis via the methionine (Met) S-methyltransferase enzyme (MmtN), generating S-methyl-Met (SMM). Here we characterize a roseobacterial MmtN, providing structural and mechanistic insights into this DMSP synthesis enzyme. We propose that MmtN uses the proximity and desolvation mechanism for Met S-methylation with two adjacent MmtN monomers comprising the Met binding site. We also identify diverse functional MmtN enzymes in potentially symbiotic archaeal Candidatus Woesearchaeota and Candidate Phyla Radiation (CPR) bacteria, and the animalcule Adineta steineri, not anticipated to produce SMM and/or DMSP. These diverse MmtN enzymes, alongside the larger plant MMT enzyme with an N-terminus homologous to MmtN, likely utilize the same proximity and desolvation mechanism. This study provides important insights into the catalytic mechanism of SMM and/or DMSP production, and proposes roles for these compounds in secondary metabolite production, and SMM cycling in diverse organisms and environments.

Assessing the Toxicity and Mitigating the Impact of Harmful Prymnesium Blooms in Eutrophic Waters of the Norfolk Broads.

Prymnesium parvum is a toxin-producing microalga, which causes harmful algal blooms globally, frequently leading to massive fish kills that have adverse ecological and economic implications for natural waterways and aquaculture alike. The dramatic effects observed on fish are thought to be due to algal polyether toxins, known as the prymnesins, but their lack of environmental detection has resulted in an uncertainty about the true ichthyotoxic agents. Using qPCR, we found elevated levels of P. parvum and its lytic virus, PpDNAV-BW1, in a fish-killing bloom on the Norfolk Broads, United Kingdom, in March 2015. We also detected, for the first time, the B-type prymnesin toxins in Broads waterway samples and gill tissue isolated from a dead fish taken from the study site. Furthermore, Norfolk Broads P. parvum isolates unambiguously produced B-type toxins in laboratory-grown cultures. A 2 year longitudinal study of the Broads study site showed P. parvum blooms to be correlated with increased temperature and that PpDNAV plays a significant role in P. parvum bloom demise. Finally, we used a field trial to show that treatment with low doses of hydrogen peroxide represents an effective strategy to mitigate blooms of P. parvum in enclosed water bodies.

Spatiotemporal distribution of bacterial dimethylsulfoniopropionate producing and catabolic genes in the Changjiang Estuary.

The osmolyte dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) is produced in petagram amounts by marine microorganisms. Estuaries provide natural gradients in salinity and nutrients, factors known to regulate DMSP production; yet there have been no molecular studies of DMSP production and cycling across these gradients. Here, we study the abundance, distribution and transcription of key DMSP synthesis (e.g. dsyB and mmtN) and catabolic (e.g. dddP and dmdA) genes along the salinity gradient of the Changjiang Estuary. DMSP levels did not correlate with Chl a across the salinity gradient. In contrast, DMSP concentration, abundance of bacterial DMSP producers and their dsyB and mmtN transcripts were lowest in the freshwater samples and increased abruptly with salinity in the transitional and seawater samples. Metagenomics analysis suggests bacterial DMSP-producers were more abundant than their algal equivalents and were more prominent in summer than winter samples. Bacterial DMSP catabolic genes and their transcripts followed the same trend of being greatly enhanced in transitional and seawater samples with higher DMSP levels than freshwater samples. DMSP cleavage was likely the dominant catabolic pathway, with DMSP lyase genes being ~4.3-fold more abundant than the demethylase gene dmdA. This is an exemplar study for future research on microbial DMSP cycling in estuary environments.

Dimethylsulfoniopropionate Biosynthetic Bacteria in the Subseafloor Sediments of the South China Sea.

Dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) is one of Earth's most abundant organosulfur molecules, and bacteria in marine sediments have been considered significant producers. However, the vertical profiles of DMSP content and DMSP-producing bacteria in subseafloor sediment have not been described. Here, we used culture-dependent and -independent methods to investigate microbial DMSP production and cycling potential in South China Sea (SCS) sediment. The DMSP content of SCS sediment decreased from 11.25 to 20.90 nmol g-1 in the surface to 0.56-2.08 nmol g-1 in the bottom layers of 8-m-deep subseafloor sediment cores (n = 10). Very few eukaryotic plastid sequences were detected in the sediment, supporting bacteria and not algae as important sediment DMSP producers. Known bacterial DMSP biosynthesis genes (dsyB and mmtN) were only predicted to be in 0.0007-0.0195% of sediment bacteria, but novel DMSP-producing isolates with potentially unknown DMSP synthesis genes and/or pathways were identified in these sediments, including Marinobacter (Gammaproteobacteria) and Erythrobacter (Alphaproteobacteria) sp. The abundance of bacteria with the potential to produce DMSP decreased with sediment depth and was extremely low at 690 cm. Furthermore, distinct DMSP-producing bacterial groups existed in surface and subseafloor sediment samples, and their abundance increased when samples were incubated under conditions known to enrich for DMSP-producing bacteria. Bacterial DMSP catabolic genes were also most abundant in the surface oxic sediments with high DMSP concentrations. This study extends the current knowledge of bacterial DMSP biosynthesis in marine sediments and implies that DMSP biosynthesis is not only confined to the surface oxic sediment zones. It highlights the importance of future work to uncover the DMSP biosynthesis genes/pathways in novel DMSP-producing bacteria.

DiTing: A Pipeline to Infer and Compare Biogeochemical Pathways From Metagenomic and Metatranscriptomic Data.

Metagenomics and metatranscriptomics are powerful methods to uncover key micro-organisms and processes driving biogeochemical cycling in natural ecosystems. Databases dedicated to depicting biogeochemical pathways (for example, metabolism of dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP), which is an abundant organosulfur compound) from metagenomic/metatranscriptomic data are rarely seen. Additionally, a recognized normalization model to estimate the relative abundance and environmental importance of pathways from metagenomic and metatranscriptomic data has not been organized to date. These limitations impact the ability to accurately relate key microbial-driven biogeochemical processes to differences in environmental conditions. Thus, an easy-to-use, specialized tool that infers and visually compares the potential for biogeochemical processes, including DMSP cycling, is urgently required. To solve these issues, we developed DiTing, a tool wrapper to infer and compare biogeochemical pathways among a set of given metagenomic or metatranscriptomic reads in one step, based on the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and a manually created DMSP cycling gene database. Accurate and specific formulae for over 100 pathways were developed to calculate their relative abundance. Output reports detail the relative abundance of biogeochemical pathways in both text and graphical format. DiTing was applied to simulated metagenomic data and resulted in consistent genetic features of simulated benchmark genomic data. Subsequently, when applied to natural metagenomic and metatranscriptomic data from hydrothermal vents and the Tara Ocean project, the functional profiles predicted by DiTing were correlated with environmental condition changes. DiTing can now be confidently applied to wider metagenomic and metatranscriptomic datasets, and it is available at https://github.com/xuechunxu/DiTing.

A novel ATP dependent dimethylsulfoniopropionate lyase in bacteria that releases dimethyl sulfide and acryloyl-CoA.

Dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) is an abundant and ubiquitous organosulfur molecule in marine environments with important roles in global sulfur and nutrient cycling. Diverse DMSP lyases in some algae, bacteria, and fungi cleave DMSP to yield gaseous dimethyl sulfide (DMS), an infochemical with important roles in atmospheric chemistry. Here, we identified a novel ATP-dependent DMSP lyase, DddX. DddX belongs to the acyl-CoA synthetase superfamily and is distinct from the eight other known DMSP lyases. DddX catalyses the conversion of DMSP to DMS via a two-step reaction: the ligation of DMSP with CoA to form the intermediate DMSP-CoA, which is then cleaved to DMS and acryloyl-CoA. The novel catalytic mechanism was elucidated by structural and biochemical analyses. DddX is found in several Alphaproteobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria, and Firmicutes, suggesting that this new DMSP lyase may play an overlooked role in DMSP/DMS cycles.

The global sulfur cycle is a collection of geological and biological processes that circulate sulfur-containing compounds through the oceans, rocks and atmosphere. Sulfur itself is essential for life and important for plant growth, hence its widespread use in fertilizers. Marine organisms such as bacteria, algae and phytoplankton produce one particular sulfur compound, called dimethylsulfoniopropionate, or DMSP, in massive amounts. DMSP made in the oceans gets readily converted into a gas called dimethyl sulfide (DMS), which is the largest natural source of sulfur entering the atmosphere. In the air, DMS is converted to sulfate and other by-products that can act as cloud condensation nuclei, which, as the name suggests, are involved in cloud formation. In this way, DMS can influence weather and climate, so it is often referred to as 'climate-active' gas. At least eight enzymes are known to cleave DMSP into DMS gas with a few by-products. These enzymes are found in algae, bacteria and fungi, and are referred to as lyases, for the way they breakdown their target compounds (DMSP, in this case). Recently, researchers have identified some bacteria that produce DMS from DMSP without using known DMSP lyases. This suggests there are other, unidentified enzymes that act on DMSP in nature, and likely contribute to global sulfur cycling. Li, Wang et al. set out to uncover new enzymes responsible for converting the DMSP that marine bacteria produce into gaseous DMS. One new enzyme called DddX was identified and found to belong to a superfamily of enzymes quite separate to other known DMSP lyases. Li, Wang et al. also showed how DddX drives the conversion of DMSP to DMS in a two-step reaction, and that the enzyme is found across several classes of bacteria. Further experiments to characterise the protein structure of DddX also revealed the molecular mechanism for its catalytic action. This study offers important insights into how marine bacteria generate the climatically important gas DMS from DMSP, leading to a better understanding of the global sulfur cycle. It gives microbial ecologists a more comprehensive perspective of these environmental processes, and provides biochemists with data on a family of enzymes not previously known to act on sulfur-containing compounds.