Metagenomic analysis of heavy water-adapted bacterial communities

Micro-organisms can survive and thrive in unusual and extreme environments. Here, we present a metagenomic analysis of living bacteria found in highly pure, deleterious heavy water (>99% D<sub>2</sub>O), stored in sealed plastic containers for more than 30 years, without any external supply. Deep DNA sequencing analyses have revealed that the most abundant genetic signatures were primarily associated with <i>Pseudomonadota</i> and <i>Bacteroidota</i>. These bacteria exhibited shorter gene lengths and depletion of polar and metabolically costly amino acids compared to the related species from light water environments. Genes related to DNA transposition, repair and modification were notably abundant, particularly mutant forms of the IS3 transposable elements family. We also explore potential carbon and energy sources and discuss the evolutionary implications of bacteria capable of surviving in such an extreme human-made environment.

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Publication Details

Journal
Microbial Genomics
Published
2025-05-29
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1099/mgen.0.001414
Primary Topic
Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology
Type
article
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article

Metagenomic analysis of heavy water-adapted bacterial communities

Rebecca Hernández-Antolín, Esteban Domingo, Carlos Sánchez, Juan Rivas-Santisteban et al.
Microbial Genomics
Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology
article

Metagenomic analysis of heavy water-adapted bacterial communities

Rebecca Hernández-Antolín, Esteban Domingo, Carlos Sánchez, Juan Rivas-Santisteban, José M. Martínez, Ricardo Amils, Cristina Escudero, Laura Cid-Barrio, Gary Ellis, Francisco Sobrino
article en

Abstract

Micro-organisms can survive and thrive in unusual and extreme environments. Here, we present a metagenomic analysis of living bacteria found in highly pure, deleterious heavy water (>99% D<sub>2</sub>O), stored in sealed plastic containers for more than 30 years, without any external supply. Deep DNA sequencing analyses have revealed that the most abundant genetic signatures were primarily associated with <i>Pseudomonadota</i> and <i>Bacteroidota</i>. These bacteria exhibited shorter gene lengths and depletion of polar and metabolically costly amino acids compared to the related species from light water environments. Genes related to DNA transposition, repair and modification were notably abundant, particularly mutant forms of the IS3 transposable elements family. We also explore potential carbon and energy sources and discuss the evolutionary implications of bacteria capable of surviving in such an extreme human-made environment.

Microbial GenomicsVol. 11(5)
Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de Polímeros (ES), Centro Nacional de Biotecnología (ES), Canfranc Underground Laboratory (ES), Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa (ES), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (ES), University of Tübingen (DE)
Clean water and sanitation
Openalex Percentile: Top 88%
Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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Metagenomic analysis of heavy water-adapted bacterial communities — Rebecca Hernández-Antolín, Esteban Domingo, et al. · Microbial Genomics (2025) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS