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Endolithic microbial communities in carbonate precipitates from serpentinite-hosted hyperalkaline springs of the Voltri Massif (Ligurian Alps, Northern Italy)

  • Microbial Ecology of the Continental and Coastal Environments
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Abstract

The Voltri Massif is an ophiolitic complex located in the Ligurian Alps close to the city of Genova (Northern Italy) where several springs discharge high pH (up to 11.7), low salinity waters produced by the active serpentinization of the ultramafic basement. Mixing of these hyperalkaline waters with the river waters along with the uptake of atmospheric carbon dioxide forms brownish carbonate precipitates covering the bedrock at the springs. Diverse archaeal and bacterial communities were detected in these carbonate precipitates using 454 pyrosequencing analyses of 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes. Archaeal communities were dominated by members of potential methane-producing and/or methane-oxidizing Methanobacteriales and Methanosarcinales (Euryarchaeota) together with ammonia-oxidizing Nitrososphaerales (Thaumarchaeota) similar to those found in other serpentinization-driven submarine and terrestrial ecosystems. Bacterial communities consisted of members of the Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Planctomycetes, Bacteroidetes, Chloroflexi, and Verrucomicrobia phyla, altogether accounting for 92.2 % of total retrieved bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequences. Amongst Bacteria, potential chemolithotrophy was mainly associated with Alpha- and Betaproteobacteria classes, including nitrogen-fixing, methane-oxidizing or hydrogen-oxidizing representatives of the genera Azospirillum, Methylosinus, and Hydrogenophaga/‘Serpentinomonas’, respectively. Besides, potential chemoorganotrophy was attributed mainly to representatives of Actinobacteria and Planctomycetales phyla. The reported 16S rRNA gene data strongly suggested that hydrogen, methane, and nitrogen-based chemolithotrophy can sustain growth of the microbial communities inhabiting the carbonate precipitates in the hyperalkaline springs of the Voltri Massif, similarly to what was previously observed in other serpentinite-hosted ecosystems.

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Acknowledgments

This project was financially supported by the French national programs EC2CO-Biohefect/Ecodyn/Dril/MicrobiEn (MicroProny), the French Institute of Research for Development (IRD) and CESSUR of the Institut des Sciences de la Terre et de l'Univers (CNRS-INSU).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS/INSU, Université de Toulon, IRD, Mediterranean Institute of Oceanography (MIO), UM 110, 13288, Marseille, France

    Marianne Quéméneur, Alexandra Palvadeau, Anne Postec, Bernard Ollivier & Gaël Erauso

  2. GET (Géosciences Environnement Toulouse) UMR5563, Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, IRD, 14 Avenue Edouard Belin, 31400, Toulouse, France

    Christophe Monnin & Valérie Chavagnac

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  1. Marianne Quéméneur
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  2. Alexandra Palvadeau
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  3. Anne Postec
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  4. Christophe Monnin
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  5. Valérie Chavagnac
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  6. Bernard Ollivier
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  7. Gaël Erauso
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Correspondence to Marianne Quéméneur.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

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Quéméneur, M., Palvadeau, A., Postec, A. et al. Endolithic microbial communities in carbonate precipitates from serpentinite-hosted hyperalkaline springs of the Voltri Massif (Ligurian Alps, Northern Italy). Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 13613–13624 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-4113-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-4113-7

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