Light cues drive community-wide transcriptional shifts in the hypersaline South Bay Salt Works
Abstract The transition from day to night brings sweeping change to both environments and the organisms within them. Diel shifts in gene expression have been documented across all domains of life but remain understudied in microbial communities, particularly those in extreme environments where small...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2025-03-01
|
| Series: | Communications Biology |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-07855-w |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849390247491665920 |
|---|---|
| author | Margaret M. Weng Benjamin Klempay Jeff S. Bowman Luke Fisher Cyprien Camplong Peter T. Doran Susan Rundell Jennifer B. Glass Avishek Dutta Alexandra Pontefract Douglas H. Bartlett Britney Schmidt Sarah Stewart Johnson |
| author_facet | Margaret M. Weng Benjamin Klempay Jeff S. Bowman Luke Fisher Cyprien Camplong Peter T. Doran Susan Rundell Jennifer B. Glass Avishek Dutta Alexandra Pontefract Douglas H. Bartlett Britney Schmidt Sarah Stewart Johnson |
| author_sort | Margaret M. Weng |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The transition from day to night brings sweeping change to both environments and the organisms within them. Diel shifts in gene expression have been documented across all domains of life but remain understudied in microbial communities, particularly those in extreme environments where small changes may have rippling effects on resource availability. In hypersaline environments, many prominent taxa are photoheterotrophs that rely on organic carbon for growth but can also generate significant ATP via light-powered rhodopsins. Previous research demonstrated a significant response to light intensity shifts in the model halophile Halobacterium salinarum, but these cycles have rarely been explored in situ. Here, we examined genome-resolved differential expression in a hypersaline saltern (water activity (aw) $$\cong$$ ≅ 0.83, total dissolved solids = 250.7 g L−1) throughout a 24-h period. We found increased transcription of genes related to phototrophy and anabolic metabolic processes during the day, while genes related to aerobic respiration and oxidative stress were upregulated at night. Substantiating these results with a chemostat culture of the environmentally abundant halophilic bacterium Salinibacter ruber revealed similar transcriptional upregulation of genes associated with aerobic respiration under dark conditions. These results describe the potential for light-driven changes in oxygen use across both a natural hypersaline environment and a pure culture. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4415fb9d56f44a33bfee77ad6718ee77 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2399-3642 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Communications Biology |
| spelling | doaj-art-4415fb9d56f44a33bfee77ad6718ee772025-08-20T03:41:43ZengNature PortfolioCommunications Biology2399-36422025-03-018111110.1038/s42003-025-07855-wLight cues drive community-wide transcriptional shifts in the hypersaline South Bay Salt WorksMargaret M. Weng0Benjamin Klempay1Jeff S. Bowman2Luke Fisher3Cyprien Camplong4Peter T. Doran5Susan Rundell6Jennifer B. Glass7Avishek Dutta8Alexandra Pontefract9Douglas H. Bartlett10Britney Schmidt11Sarah Stewart Johnson12Georgetown UniversityScripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San DiegoScripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San DiegoScripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San DiegoUniversité de Bretagne Occidentale (UBO)Louisiana State UniversityUniversity of WashingtonGeorgia Institute of TechnologyScripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San DiegoJohns Hopkins UniversityScripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San DiegoCornell UniversityGeorgetown UniversityAbstract The transition from day to night brings sweeping change to both environments and the organisms within them. Diel shifts in gene expression have been documented across all domains of life but remain understudied in microbial communities, particularly those in extreme environments where small changes may have rippling effects on resource availability. In hypersaline environments, many prominent taxa are photoheterotrophs that rely on organic carbon for growth but can also generate significant ATP via light-powered rhodopsins. Previous research demonstrated a significant response to light intensity shifts in the model halophile Halobacterium salinarum, but these cycles have rarely been explored in situ. Here, we examined genome-resolved differential expression in a hypersaline saltern (water activity (aw) $$\cong$$ ≅ 0.83, total dissolved solids = 250.7 g L−1) throughout a 24-h period. We found increased transcription of genes related to phototrophy and anabolic metabolic processes during the day, while genes related to aerobic respiration and oxidative stress were upregulated at night. Substantiating these results with a chemostat culture of the environmentally abundant halophilic bacterium Salinibacter ruber revealed similar transcriptional upregulation of genes associated with aerobic respiration under dark conditions. These results describe the potential for light-driven changes in oxygen use across both a natural hypersaline environment and a pure culture.https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-07855-w |
| spellingShingle | Margaret M. Weng Benjamin Klempay Jeff S. Bowman Luke Fisher Cyprien Camplong Peter T. Doran Susan Rundell Jennifer B. Glass Avishek Dutta Alexandra Pontefract Douglas H. Bartlett Britney Schmidt Sarah Stewart Johnson Light cues drive community-wide transcriptional shifts in the hypersaline South Bay Salt Works Communications Biology |
| title | Light cues drive community-wide transcriptional shifts in the hypersaline South Bay Salt Works |
| title_full | Light cues drive community-wide transcriptional shifts in the hypersaline South Bay Salt Works |
| title_fullStr | Light cues drive community-wide transcriptional shifts in the hypersaline South Bay Salt Works |
| title_full_unstemmed | Light cues drive community-wide transcriptional shifts in the hypersaline South Bay Salt Works |
| title_short | Light cues drive community-wide transcriptional shifts in the hypersaline South Bay Salt Works |
| title_sort | light cues drive community wide transcriptional shifts in the hypersaline south bay salt works |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-07855-w |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT margaretmweng lightcuesdrivecommunitywidetranscriptionalshiftsinthehypersalinesouthbaysaltworks AT benjaminklempay lightcuesdrivecommunitywidetranscriptionalshiftsinthehypersalinesouthbaysaltworks AT jeffsbowman lightcuesdrivecommunitywidetranscriptionalshiftsinthehypersalinesouthbaysaltworks AT lukefisher lightcuesdrivecommunitywidetranscriptionalshiftsinthehypersalinesouthbaysaltworks AT cypriencamplong lightcuesdrivecommunitywidetranscriptionalshiftsinthehypersalinesouthbaysaltworks AT petertdoran lightcuesdrivecommunitywidetranscriptionalshiftsinthehypersalinesouthbaysaltworks AT susanrundell lightcuesdrivecommunitywidetranscriptionalshiftsinthehypersalinesouthbaysaltworks AT jenniferbglass lightcuesdrivecommunitywidetranscriptionalshiftsinthehypersalinesouthbaysaltworks AT avishekdutta lightcuesdrivecommunitywidetranscriptionalshiftsinthehypersalinesouthbaysaltworks AT alexandrapontefract lightcuesdrivecommunitywidetranscriptionalshiftsinthehypersalinesouthbaysaltworks AT douglashbartlett lightcuesdrivecommunitywidetranscriptionalshiftsinthehypersalinesouthbaysaltworks AT britneyschmidt lightcuesdrivecommunitywidetranscriptionalshiftsinthehypersalinesouthbaysaltworks AT sarahstewartjohnson lightcuesdrivecommunitywidetranscriptionalshiftsinthehypersalinesouthbaysaltworks |