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research article

Deciphering the biosynthetic landscape of biofilms in glacier-fed streams

Geers, Aileen Ute  
•
Michoud, Gregoire  
•
Busi, Susheel Bhanu
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December 31, 2024
mSystems

Glacier-fed streams are permanently cold, ultra-oligotrophic, and physically unstable environments, yet microbial life thrives in benthic biofilm communities. Within biofilms, microorganisms rely on secondary metabolites for communication and competition. However, the diversity and genetic potential of secondary metabolites in glacier-fed stream biofilms remain poorly understood. In this study, we present the first large-scale exploration of biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) from benthic glacier-fed stream biofilms sampled by the Vanishing Glaciers project from the world's major mountain ranges. We found a remarkable diversity of BGCs, with more than 8,000 of them identified within 2,868 prokaryotic metagenome-assembled genomes, some of them potentially conferring ecological advantages, such as UV protection and quorum sensing. The BGCs were distinct from those sourced from other aquatic microbiomes, with over 40% of them being novel. The glacier-fed stream BGCs exhibited the highest similarity to BGCs from glacier microbiomes. BGC composition displayed geographic patterns and correlated with prokaryotic alpha diversity. We also found that BGC diversity was positively associated with benthic chlorophyll a and prokaryotic diversity, indicative of more biotic interactions in more extensive biofilms. Our study provides new insights into a hitherto poorly explored microbial ecosystem, which is now changing at a rapid pace as glaciers are shrinking due to climate change.

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Type
research article
DOI
10.1128/msystems.01137-24
Web of Science ID

WOS:001386749800001

PubMed ID

39745394

Author(s)
Geers, Aileen Ute  

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

Michoud, Gregoire  

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

Busi, Susheel Bhanu

UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH)

Peter, Hannes  

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

Kohler, Tyler Joe  

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

Ezzat, Leila  

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

Vanishing Glaciers Field Team, Tom J.
Battin, Tom J.  

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

Date Issued

2024-12-31

Publisher

American Society for Microbiology

Published in
mSystems
Subjects

secondary metabolites

•

microbiomes

•

glacier-fed streams

•

biofilms

Editorial or Peer reviewed

REVIEWED

Written at

EPFL

EPFL units
RIVER  
FunderFunding(s)Grant NumberGrant URL

NOMIS Stiftung (NOMIS Foundation)

Available on Infoscience
January 28, 2025
Use this identifier to reference this record
https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/245675
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