Integration of Untargeted Metabolomics and Microbial Community Analyses to Characterize Distinct Deep-Sea Methane...

Area of Science:

• Marine microbiology and metabolomics
• Geochemistry of deep-sea ecosystems
• Natural product discovery

Background:

• Deep-sea methane seeps are hotspots of microbial diversity, distinct from other marine environments.
• Chemosynthetic microorganisms in seeps possess unique metabolic capabilities.
• Microbial natural products from these environments hold potential for human and environmental applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between microbial community structure and metabolic profiles at deep-sea methane seeps.
• To assess the feasibility of detecting representative metabolites and identifying congruent patterns with microbial communities.
• To explore the chemical diversity and specialized metabolisms of microorganisms in different seep geomorphologies.

Main Methods:

• Collected sediment cores from two methane seeps and a control site at -1000 m water depth.
• Performed parallel untargeted metabolomic analysis using high-resolution liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS).
• Characterized microbial communities via 16S rRNA gene sequencing, focusing on overall community and Actinobacteria.

Main Results:

• Annotated metabolomes using SIRIUS and CANOPUS identified predicted structure classifications for most mass features.
• The younger seep showed higher metabolite abundance, while the older seep exhibited greater variation in metabolite profiles, particularly lipids.
• Significant differences in microbial community composition correlated with metabolite diversity, both varying with distance from the seep.

Conclusions:

• Microbial and metabolite diversity at methane seeps are strongly influenced by seepage, indicating a deterministic ecological role.
• This interdisciplinary approach enhances understanding of the chemical diversity and ecological significance of deep-sea methane seeps.
• The study highlights the potential for discovering novel natural products from these unique microbial ecosystems.