Lanthanide rarity in natural waters: implications for microbial C1 metabolism

Research in the last decade has illuminated the important role that lanthanides play in microbial carbon metabolism, particularly methylotrophy. Environmental omics studies have revealed that lanthoenzymes are dominant in some environments, and laboratory studies have shown that lanthoenzymes are favored over their calcium-containing counterparts even when calcium is far more abundant. Lanthanide elements are common in rocks but occur at exceedingly low levels in most natural waters (picomolar to nanomolar range) with the exception of volcanic hot springs, which can reach micromolar concentrations. Calcium is orders of magnitude higher in abundance than lanthanide elements across natural settings. Bacteria that use lanthanides for growth on simple carbon compounds (e.g. methanol and ethanol) grow optimally at micromolar concentrations. It is highly likely that bacteria in the environment have evolved specialized lanthanide sequestration and high-affinity uptake systems to overcome lanthanide deprivation. Indeed, we identified genes in soil metagenomes encoding the lanthanide-binding protein lanmodulin, which may be important for cellular differentiation between calcium and lanthanides. More research is needed on microbial adaptations to lanthanide scarcity.