The abstract is read at the publisher; the summary is JClub's.
A submerged acid lake at ~220 m in the Luymes Sinkholes hosts a distinct planktonic microbiome enriched for nitrification and halogen cycling, linked to halogenated metabolites.
- Why it matters: Extreme acidified, suboxic marine conditions are poorly understood in terms of which microbial processes sustain geochemical gradients. This work targets how microbes adapt and which metabolic pathways match those conditions.
- What they did: During a 10-day cruise in December 2019, 59 size-filtered (0.22 μm) planktonic microbe samples and dissolved organic matter from 21 stations (2–600 m) were analyzed using shotgun metagenomics plus untargeted metabolomics. Functional annotation of metagenome-assembled genomes and protein clusters assessed enrichment of nitrification and halogen cycling genes.
- The result: The submerged acid lake community differed from non-acidic sinkholes, with higher abundances of Nitrospinota, Thermoproteota, Planctomycetota, and Actinobacteriota. Metabolites were enriched in large, low-polarity, and halogenated compounds (including iodides and halobenzoic acids), and taxa–metabolite correlations plus gene enrichment suggest linked nitrifying archaea and halogenated compound cycling.
The findingWhy it mattersWhat they didThe result
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