Deep Subsurface Pressure Stimulates Metabolic Plasticity in Shale-Colonizing Halanaerobium.

Deep Subsurface Pressure Stimulates Metabolic Plasticity in Shale-Colonizing Halanaerobium. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2019 Apr 12;: Authors: Booker AE, Hoyt DW, Meulia T, Eder E, Nicora CD, Purvine SO, Daly RA, Moore JD, Wunch K, Pfiffner SM, Lipton MS, Mouser PJ, Wrighton KC, Wilkins MJ Abstract Bacterial Halanaerobium strains become the dominant persisting microbial community member in produced fluids across geographically distinct hydraulically fractured shales. Halanaerobium is believed to be inadvertently introduced into this environment during the drilling and fracturing process and must therefore tolerate large changes in pressure, temperature, and salinity. Here, we used a Halanaerobium strain isolated from a natural gas well in the Utica Point Pleasant formation to investigate metabolic and physiological responses to growth under high-pressure subsurface conditions. Laboratory incubations confirmed the ability of H. congolense strain WG8 to grow under pressures representative of deep shale formations (21-48 MPa). Under these conditions, broad metabolic and physiological shifts were identified, including higher abundances of proteins associated with the production of extracellular polymeric substances. Confocal laser scanning microscopy indicated that EPS production was associated with greater cell aggregation when biomass was cultured at high-pressure. Changes in Halanaerobium central carbon metabolism under the same condition...
Source: Applied and Environmental Microbiology - Category: Microbiology Authors: Tags: Appl Environ Microbiol Source Type: research