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An unusual mode of energy metabolism discovered in a newly identified microbe provides new insights into primitive life processes and offers promising biotechnological applications. Uncovered in the deep
An unusual mode of energy metabolism discovered in a newly identified microbe provides new insights into primitive life processes and offers promising biotechnological applications. Uncovered in the deep springs of Northern California, this organism uses a previously unknown metabolic pathway to convert carbon dioxide into energy-rich chemicals, potentially mimicking the mechanisms of early life and paving the way for advances in microbial and biofuel production.
RIKEN scientists have discovered a new microbe that could provide important information about the origins of life on Earth, the search for extraterrestrial life, and advances in microbial-based production. Research conducted in the harsh, deep-sea springs of Northern California has discovered a microorganism that converts carbon dioxide into other chemicals. This process not only produces energy, but also uses a previously unknown metabolic pathway that provides new methods of carbon fixation that can mimic the oldest forms of energy metabolism on our planet.
“This is really unusual,” says microbiologist Shino Suzuki, lead author of the study and head of the Geobiology and Astrobiology Laboratory of the RIKEN Pioneer Research Cluster in Wako, Japan.
The unusual conditions experienced by microorganisms may be a candidate for the environment in which life on Earth emerged, Suzuki says, so this new type of carbon fixation “may represent one of the earliest energy conversion processes in early life.” It turns out that it can also be used to stimulate microbial production of chemicals and biofuels.
The microbe, a type of single-celled life form known as an archaeon, comes from an otherworldly ecosystem called the Cedars. Located about 150 kilometers north of San Francisco’s famous Golden Gate Bridge, this geological treasure is characterized by strange mineral formations resulting from the reaction of some underground rocks with water. This process produces water that is rich in calcium, hydrogen and methane but lacks other components normally necessary for life. With all this, life continues at full speed there.
About 15 years ago, Suzuki and colleagues began characterizing microbes in this hostile environment, using advanced genetic sequencing techniques to identify bacteria and archaea in these unexplored realms. They encountered a variety of exotic microbes, each with different genomic features and metabolic functions.
Some fed on hydrogen, while others consumed minerals dissolved in alkaline waters. But perhaps none was more strange and fascinating than Met12.
Met12 is an abundant archaea that lives in the deep groundwater of the Cedars. Genetic analysis showed that it is closely related to a group of anaerobic microbes known for their ability to produce methane as a metabolic byproduct. However, Met12 lacks the genes required for methane production.
Instead, the microbe relies on an alternative metabolic pathway in which carbon dioxide is converted into an organic molecule called acetate, without releasing any methane in the process. It is noteworthy that a unique gene called MmcX helps in this operation.
Suzuki and his team showed that this gene helps increase Met12’s ability to accept electrons, allowing for more reliable energy metabolism. This adaptation is very important for the microbe to be able to develop in a region such as the Cedars, which at first glance seems completely unsuitable for such life.
According to Suzuki, this discovery shows a life form that is unexpectedly adaptable to extreme conditions; This discovery may reflect how primitive or even extraterrestrial life arose under the harsh conditions believed to have existed on early Earth or other planets. “This could provide some insight into the origin of life,” says Suzuki.
When Suzuki, along with colleagues from other countries in the United States, Denmark and Japan, first discovered Met12, they could not believe their own findings. “I doubted myself,” Suzuki says. “I thought I made a mistake.”
Since only gene sequences were available, they had to use a method to reconstruct the microbe’s circular genome. It turned out that Met12 was difficult to grow in the laboratory, so they could not confirm its presence with traditional microbiological methods. Researchers turning to synthetic biology had to use creative verification methods to convince themselves that the organism was real.
They inserted the MmcX gene into a rod-shaped bacterium that had been genetically modified to have no electron transfer activity. This arrangement helped preserve the microbe’s ability to absorb electrons even before normal levels were exceeded. With further experiments, the researchers concluded how Met12 can use these electrons to facilitate energy metabolism using carbon dioxide as the primary fuel source.
The discovery is of practical importance. A bacterium with enhanced metabolic activity and versatility is widely used in biofuel production. Using MmcX, Suzuki hopes to increase the efficiency of genetically modified microbes that rely on electron transfer to help produce chemicals and biofuels. Their innovations led to patent applications for this molecular technology.
This archaeon’s feature could also help capture carbon, which is a priority in reducing emissions to slow the pace of climate change. The innovation possibilities don’t end at MmcX. Suzuki expects further extraordinary discoveries to come from further study of Cedars and other unique environments with as yet untapped reservoirs of genetic diversity.
His team is currently looking for extremophile organisms in places such as the Hakuba-Happo hot springs in the Japanese Alps, a highly alkaline hot spring with conditions similar to the Cedar Mountains, and underwater volcanoes in the Mariana Trench, the world’s deepest marine trench. In the western Pacific Ocean.
Source: Port Altele
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