TY - JOUR A1 - Liu, Qi A1 - Adler, Karsten A1 - Lipus, Daniel A1 - Kämpf, Horst A1 - Bussert, Robert A1 - Plessen, Birgit A1 - Schulz, Hans-Martin A1 - Krauze, Patryk A1 - Horn, Fabian A1 - Wagner, Dirk A1 - Mangelsdorf, Kai A1 - Alawi, Mashal T1 - Microbial signatures in deep CO2-saturated miocene sediments of the active Hartousov mofette system (NW Czech Republic) JF - Frontiers in microbiology N2 - The Hartousov mofette system is a natural CO2 degassing site in the central Cheb Basin (Eger Rift, Central Europe). In early 2016 a 108 m deep core was obtained from this system to investigate the impact of ascending mantle-derived CO2 on indigenous deep microbial communities and their surrounding life habitat. During drilling, a CO2 blow out occurred at a depth of 78.5 meter below surface (mbs) suggesting a CO2 reservoir associated with a deep low-permeable CO2-saturated saline aquifer at the transition from Early Miocene terrestrial to lacustrine sediments. Past microbial communities were investigated by hopanoids and glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) reflecting the environmental conditions during the time of deposition rather than showing a signal of the current deep biosphere. The composition and distribution of the deep microbial community potentially stimulated by the upward migration of CO2 starting during Mid Pleistocene time was investigated by intact polar lipids (IPLs), quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) analysis. The deep biosphere is characterized by microorganisms that are linked to the distribution and migration of the ascending CO2-saturated groundwater and the availability of organic matter instead of being linked to single lithological units of the investigated rock profile. Our findings revealed high relative abundances of common soil and water bacteria, in particular the facultative, anaerobic and potential iron-oxidizing Acidovorax and other members of the family Comamonadaceae across the whole recovered core. The results also highlighted the frequent detection of the putative sulfate-oxidizing and CO2-fixating genus Sulfuricurvum at certain depths. A set of new IPLs are suggested to be indicative for microorganisms associated to CO2 accumulation in the mofette system. KW - geo-bio interaction KW - CO2 KW - mofette systems KW - Eger Rift KW - microbial lipid KW - biomarker KW - microbial diversity KW - deep biosphere KW - saline groundwater Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2020.543260 SN - 1664-302X VL - 11 PB - Frontiers Media CY - Lausanne ER - TY - GEN A1 - Liu, Qi A1 - Kämpf, Horst A1 - Bussert, Robert A1 - Krauze, Patryk A1 - Horn, Fabian A1 - Nickschick, Tobias A1 - Plessen, Birgit A1 - Wagner, Dirk A1 - Alawi, Mashal T1 - Influence of CO2 degassing on the microbial community in a dry mofette field in Hartoušov, Czech Republic (Western Eger Rift) T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - The Cheb Basin (CZ) is a shallow Neogene intracontinental basin filled with fluvial and lacustrine sediments that is located in the western part of the Eger Rift. The basin is situated in a seismically active area and is characterized by diffuse degassing of mantle-derived CO2 in mofette fields. The Hartousov mofette field shows a daily CO2 flux of 23-97 tons of CO2 released over an area of 0.35 km(2) and a soil gas concentration of up to 100% CO2. The present study aims to explore the geo-bio interactions provoked by the influence of elevated CO2 concentrations on the geochemistry and microbial community of soils and sediments. To sample the strata, two 3-m cores were recovered. One core stems from the center of the degassing structure, whereas the other core was taken 8 m from the ENE and served as an undisturbed reference site. The sites were compared regarding their geochemical features, microbial abundances, and microbial community structures. The mofette site is characterized by a low pH and high TOC/sulfate contents. Striking differences in the microbial community highlight the substantial impact of elevated CO2 concentrations and their associated side effects on microbial processes. The abundance of microbes did not show a typical decrease with depth, indicating that the uprising CO2-rich fluid provides sufficient substrate for chemolithoautotrophic anaerobic microorganisms. Illumine MiSeq sequencing of the 16S rRNA genes and multivariate statistics reveals that the pH strongly influences microbial composition and explains around 38.7% of the variance at the mofette site and 22.4% of the variance between the mofette site and the undisturbed reference site. Accordingly, acidophilic microorganisms (e.g., OTUs assigned to Acidobacteriaceae and Acidithiobacillus) displayed a much higher relative abundance at the mofette site than at the reference site. The microbial community at the mofette site is characterized by a high relative abundance of methanogens and taxa involved in sulfur cycling. The present study provides intriguing insights into microbial life and geo-bio interactions in an active seismic region dominated by emanating mantle-derived CO2-rich fluids, and thereby builds the basis for further studies, e.g., focusing on the functional repertoire of the communities. However, it remains open if the observed patterns can be generalized for different time-points or sites. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 1100 KW - geo-bio interaction KW - elevated CO2 concentration KW - paleo-sediment KW - deep biosphere KW - acidophilic microorganisms KW - Acidobactetiaceae KW - Acidithiobacillus KW - Acidothermus Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-471153 SN - 1866-8372 IS - 1100 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Liu, Qi A1 - Kämpf, Horst A1 - Bussert, Robert A1 - Krauze, Patryk A1 - Horn, Fabian A1 - Nickschick, Tobias A1 - Plessen, Birgit A1 - Wagner, Dirk A1 - Alawi, Mashal T1 - Influence of CO2 degassing on the microbial community in a dry mofette field in Hartoušov, Czech Republic (Western Eger Rift) JF - Frontiers in Microbiology N2 - The Cheb Basin (CZ) is a shallow Neogene intracontinental basin filled with fluvial and lacustrine sediments that is located in the western part of the Eger Rift. The basin is situated in a seismically active area and is characterized by diffuse degassing of mantle-derived CO2 in mofette fields. The Hartousov mofette field shows a daily CO2 flux of 23-97 tons of CO2 released over an area of 0.35 km(2) and a soil gas concentration of up to 100% CO2. The present study aims to explore the geo-bio interactions provoked by the influence of elevated CO2 concentrations on the geochemistry and microbial community of soils and sediments. To sample the strata, two 3-m cores were recovered. One core stems from the center of the degassing structure, whereas the other core was taken 8 m from the ENE and served as an undisturbed reference site. The sites were compared regarding their geochemical features, microbial abundances, and microbial community structures. The mofette site is characterized by a low pH and high TOC/sulfate contents. Striking differences in the microbial community highlight the substantial impact of elevated CO2 concentrations and their associated side effects on microbial processes. The abundance of microbes did not show a typical decrease with depth, indicating that the uprising CO2-rich fluid provides sufficient substrate for chemolithoautotrophic anaerobic microorganisms. Illumine MiSeq sequencing of the 16S rRNA genes and multivariate statistics reveals that the pH strongly influences microbial composition and explains around 38.7% of the variance at the mofette site and 22.4% of the variance between the mofette site and the undisturbed reference site. Accordingly, acidophilic microorganisms (e.g., OTUs assigned to Acidobacteriaceae and Acidithiobacillus) displayed a much higher relative abundance at the mofette site than at the reference site. The microbial community at the mofette site is characterized by a high relative abundance of methanogens and taxa involved in sulfur cycling. The present study provides intriguing insights into microbial life and geo-bio interactions in an active seismic region dominated by emanating mantle-derived CO2-rich fluids, and thereby builds the basis for further studies, e.g., focusing on the functional repertoire of the communities. However, it remains open if the observed patterns can be generalized for different time-points or sites. KW - geo–bio interaction KW - elevated CO2 KW - concentration KW - paleo-sediment KW - deep biosphere KW - acidophilic microorganisms KW - Acidobacteriaceae KW - Acidithiobacillus KW - Acidothermus Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2018.02787 SN - 1664-302X VL - 9 PB - Frontiers Media CY - Lausanne ER - TY - THES A1 - Liu, Qi T1 - Influence of CO2 degassing on microbial community distribution and activity in the Hartoušov degassing system, western Eger Rift (Czech Republic) N2 - The Cheb Basin (CZ) is a shallow Neogene intracontinental basin located in the western Eger Rift. The Cheb Basin is characterized by active seismicity and diffuse degassing of mantle-derived CO2 in mofette fields. Within the Cheb Basin, the Hartoušov mofette field shows a daily CO2 flux of 23–97 tons. More than 99% of CO2 released over an area of 0.35 km2. Seismic active periods have been observed in 2000 and 2014 in the Hartoušov mofette field. Due to the active geodynamic processes, the Cheb Basin is considered to be an ideal region for the continental deep biosphere research focussing on the interaction of biological processes with geological processes. To study the influence of CO2 degassing on microbial community in the surface and subsurface environments, two 3-m shallow drillings and a 108.5-m deep scientific drilling were conducted in 2015 and 2016 respectively. Additionally, the fluid retrieved from the deep drilling borehole was also recovered. The different ecosystems were compared regarding their geochemical properties, microbial abundances, and microbial community structures. The geochemistry of the mofette is characterized by low pH, high TOC, and sulfate contents while the subsurface environment shows a neutral pH, and various TOC and sulfate contents in different lithological settings. Striking differences in the microbial community highlight the substantial impact of elevated CO2 concentrations and high saline groundwater on microbial processes. In general, the microorganisms had low abundance in the deep subsurface sediment compared with the shallow mofette. However, within the mofette and the deep subsurface sediment, the abundance of microbes does not show a typical decrease with depth, indicating that the uprising CO2-rich groundwater has a strong influence on the microbial communities via providing sufficient substrate for anaerobic chemolithoautotrophic microorganisms. Illumina MiSeq sequencing of the 16S rRNA genes and multivariate statistics reveals that the pH strongly influences the microbial community composition in the mofette, while the subsurface microbial community is significantly influenced by the groundwater which motivated by the degassing CO2. Acidophilic microorganisms show a much higher relative abundance in the mofette. Meanwhile, the OTUs assigned to family Comamonadaceae are the dominant taxa which characterize the subsurface communities. Additionally, taxa involved in sulfur cycling characterizing the microbial communities in both mofette and CO2 dominated subsurface environments. Another investigated important geo–bio interaction is the influence of the seismic activity. During seismic events, released H2 may serve as the electron donor for microbial hydrogenotrophic processes, such as methanogenesis. To determine whether the seismic events can potentially trigger methanogenesis by the elevated geogenic H2 concentration, we performed laboratory simulation experiments with sediments retrieved from the drillings. The simulation results indicate that after the addition of hydrogen, substantial amounts of methane were produced in incubated mofette sediments and deep subsurface sediments. The methanogenic hydrogenotrophic genera Methanobacterium was highly enriched during the incubation. The modeling of the in-situ observation of the earthquake swarm period in 2000 at the Novy Kostel focal area/Czech Republic and our laboratory simulation experiments reveals a close relation between seismic activities and microbial methane production via earthquake-induced H2 release. We thus conclude that H2 – which is released during seismic activity – can potentially trigger methanogenic activity in the deep subsurface. Based on this conclusion, we further hypothesize that the hydrogenotrophic early life on Earth was boosted by the Late Heavy Bombardment induced seismic activity in approximately 4.2 to 3.8 Ga. N2 - Das Eger-Becken (CZ) ist ein flaches, intrakontinentales neogenes Becken im westlichen Eger-Graben. Das Eger-Becken zeichnet sich durch aktive Seismizität und die diffuse Entgasung von aus dem Mantel stammenden CO2 in Mofettenfeldern aus. Das Mofettenfeld von Hartoušov weist einen täglichen CO2-Fluss von 23-97 Tonnen auf. Mehr als 99% des CO2 werden auf einer Fläche von 0,35 km2 freigesetzt. Im Untersuchungsgebiet wurden in den Jahren 2000 und 2014 seismisch aktive Perioden beobachtet. Aufgrund der aktiven geodynamischen Prozesse gilt das Egerer Becken als ideale Region für die kontinentale Tiefenbiosphärenforschung, die sich auf die Wechselwirkung von biologischen Prozessen mit geologischen Prozessen konzentriert. Zur Untersuchung des Einflusses der CO2-Entgasung auf die mikrobielle Gemeinschaft in der ober- und unterirdischen Umwelt wurden 2015 und 2016 zwei 3 m tiefe Flachbohrungen und eine 108,5 m tiefe wissenschaftliche Bohrung durchgeführt. Zusätzlich wurde auch aus dem Tiefbohrloch Flüssigkeit gewonnen. Die verschiedenen Ökosysteme wurden hinsichtlich ihrer geochemischen Eigenschaften, der mikrobiellen Abundanzen und der mikrobiellen Gemeinschaftsstrukturen verglichen. Die Geochemie der Mofetten zeichnet sich durch einen niedrigen pH-Wert und hohe TOC- und Sulfatgehalte aus, während das unterirdische Milieu einen neutralen pH-Wert und verschiedene TOC- und Sulfatgehalte in unterschiedlichen lithologischen Umgebungen aufweist. Auffällige Unterschiede in der mikrobiellen Gemeinschaft unterstreichen den erheblichen Einfluss erhöhter CO2-Konzentrationen und stark salzhaltigen Grundwassers auf mikrobielle Prozesse. Generell waren die mikrobiellen Abundanzen in dem tiefen Untergrundsediment im Vergleich zur flachen Mofette gering. Innerhalb der Mofette und des tiefen unterirdischen Sediments zeigt die Häufigkeit der Mikroorganismen jedoch keine typische Abnahme mit der Tiefe, was darauf hinweist, dass das aufsteigende CO2-reiche Grundwasser einen starken Einfluss auf die mikrobiellen Gemeinschaften hat, indem es genügend Substrat für anaerobe chemolithoautotrophe Mikroorganismen bietet. Die Illumina-MiSeq-Sequenzierung der 16S rRNA-Gene und die multivariate Statistik zeigen, dass der pH-Wert die Zusammensetzung der mikrobiellen Gemeinschaft in der Mofette signifikant bestimmt, während die unterirdische mikrobielle Gemeinschaft signifikant vom Grundwasser beeinflusst wird, das durch das ausgasende CO2 geprägt ist. Azidophile Mikroorganismen zeigen eine viel höhere relative Abundanz in der Mofette, wohingegen die der Familie Comamonadaceae zugeordneten OTUs die dominierenden Taxa der unterirdischen Gemeinschaften darstellen. Zusätzlich charakterisieren Taxa, die am Schwefelzyklus beteiligt sind, die mikrobiellen Gemeinschaften sowohl in der Mofette als auch in der CO2-dominierten unterirdischen Umwelt. Eine weitere wichtige Untersuchung der Geo-Bio-Interaktion ist der Einfluss der seismischen Aktivität. Während seismischer Ereignisse kann freigesetztes H2 als Elektronendonator für mikrobielle hydrogenotrophe Prozesse, wie z.B. die Methanogenese, dienen. Um zu bestimmen, ob die seismischen Ereignisse durch die erhöhten geogenen H2-Konzentrationen möglicherweise methanogene Prozesse auslösen können, führten wir Laborsimulationsexperimente mit Sedimenten durch, die aus den Bohrungen gewonnen wurden. Die Simulationsexperimente weisen darauf hin, dass nach der Zugabe von Wasserstoff beträchtliche Mengen an Methan in inkubierten Mofettensedimenten und tiefen unterirdischen Sedimenten produziert wurden. Die methanogene hydrogenotrophe Gattung Methanobacterium wurde während der Inkubation stark angereichert. Die Modellierung der in-situ-Beobachtung der Erdbeben-Schwarmzeit im Jahr 2000 im Schwerpunktgebiet Novy Kostel/Tschechische Republik und unsere Laborsimulationsexperimente zeigen einen engen Zusammenhang zwischen seismischen Aktivitäten und der biotischen Methanproduktion durch erdbebeninduzierte H2-Freisetzung. Wir kommen daher zu dem Schluss, dass H2 - dass bei seismischer Aktivität freigesetzt wird - möglicherweise methanogene Aktivität im tiefen Untergrund auslösen kann. Basierend auf dieser Schlussfolgerung gehen wir weiter davon aus, dass das frühe hydrogenotrophe Leben, durch die durch Late Heavy Bombardment induzierte seismische Aktivität in etwa 4,2 bis 3,8 Ga verstärkt wurde. T2 - Einfluss der CO2-Entgasung auf die Verteilung und Aktivität der mikrobiellen Gemeinschaft im Hartoušov-Entgasungssystem im westlichen Eger-Graben (Tschechische Republik) KW - CO2 degassing KW - western Eger Rift KW - microbial community KW - microbial activity KW - earthquake KW - seismic activity KW - deep biosphere KW - CO2-Entgasung KW - tiefe Biosphäre KW - Erdbeben KW - mikrobielle Aktivität KW - mikrobielle Gemeinschaft KW - seismische Aktivität KW - westlichen Eger-Graben Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-475341 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Krauze, Patryk A1 - Kämpf, Horst A1 - Horn, Fabian A1 - Liu, Qi A1 - Voropaev, Andrey A1 - Wagner, Dirk A1 - Alawi, Mashal T1 - Microbiological and Geochemical Survey of CO2-Dominated Mofette and Mineral Waters of the Cheb Basin, Czech Republic JF - Frontiers in microbiology N2 - The Cheb Basin (NW Bohemia, Czech Republic) is a shallow, neogene intracontinental basin. It is a non-volcanic region which features frequent earthquake swarms and large-scale diffuse degassing of mantle-derived CO2 at the surface that occurs in the form of CO2-rich mineral springs and wet and dry mofettes. So far, the influence of CO2 degassing onto the microbial communities has been studied for soil environments, but not for aquatic systems. We hypothesized, that deep-trenching CO2 conduits interconnect the subsurface with the surface. This admixture of deep thermal fluids should be reflected in geochemical parameters and in the microbial community compositions. In the present study four mineral water springs and two wet mofettes were investigated through an interdisciplinary survey. The waters were acidic and differed in terms of organic carbon and anion/cation concentrations. Element geochemical and isotope analyses of fluid components were used to verify the origin of the fluids. Prokaryotic communities were characterized through quantitative PCR and Illumina 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Putative chemolithotrophic, anaerobic and microaerophilic organisms connected to sulfur (e.g., Sulfuricurvum, Sulfurimonas) and iron (e.g., Gallionella, Sideroxydans) cycling shaped the core community. Additionally, CO2-influenced waters form an ecosystem containing many taxa that are usually found in marine or terrestrial subsurface ecosystems. Multivariate statistics highlighted the influence of environmental parameters such as pH, Fe2+ concentration and conductivity on species distribution. The hydrochemical and microbiological survey introduces a new perspective on mofettes. Our results support that mofettes are either analogs or rather windows into the deep biosphere and furthermore enable access to deeply buried paleo-sediments. KW - elevated CO2 concentration KW - microbial ecology KW - deep biosphere KW - Eger Rift KW - paleo-sediment KW - Sulfuricurvum KW - Gallionella KW - Sideroxydans Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2017.02446 SN - 1664-302X VL - 8 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER -