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research article

Active sulfur cycling in the terrestrial deep subsurface

Bell, Emma  
•
Lamminmäki, Tiina
•
Alneberg, Johannes
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February 11, 2020
The ISME Journal

The deep terrestrial subsurface remains an environment where there is limited understanding of the extant microbial metabolisms. At Olkiluoto, Finland, a deep geological repository is under construction for the final storage of spent nuclear fuel. It is therefore critical to evaluate the potential impact microbial metabolism, including sulfide generation, could have upon the safety of the repository. We investigated a deep groundwater where sulfate is present, but groundwater geochemistry suggests limited microbial sulfate-reducing activity. Examination of the microbial community at the genome-level revealed microorganisms with the metabolic capacity for both oxidative and reductive sulfur transformations. Deltaproteobacteria are shown to have the genetic capacity for sulfate reduction and possibly sulfur disproportionation, while Rhizobiaceae, Rhodocyclaceae, Sideroxydans, and Sulfurimonas oxidize reduced sulfur compounds. Further examination of the proteome confirmed an active sulfur cycle, serving for microbial energy generation and growth. Our results reveal that this sulfide-poor groundwater harbors an active microbial community of sulfate-reducing and sulfide-oxidizing bacteria, together mediating a sulfur cycle that remained undetected by geochemical monitoring alone. The ability of sulfide-oxidizing bacteria to limit the accumulation of sulfide was further demonstrated in groundwater incubations and highlights a potential sink for sulfide that could be beneficial for geological repository safety.

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Type
research article
DOI
10.1038/s41396-020-0602-x
Author(s)
Bell, Emma  
Lamminmäki, Tiina
Alneberg, Johannes
Andersson, Anders
Qian, Chen
Xiong, Weili
Hettich, Robert
Frutschi, Manon  
Bernier-Latmani, Rizlan  
Date Issued

2020-02-11

Published in
The ISME Journal
Volume

14

Start page

1260

End page

1272

Editorial or Peer reviewed

REVIEWED

Written at

EPFL

EPFL units
EML  
Available on Infoscience
February 16, 2020
Use this identifier to reference this record
https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/165568
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