Physiological and ecological implications of an iron- or hydrogen-oxidizing member of the Zetaproteobacteria, Ghiorsea bivora, gen. nov., sp. nov.

Chemosynthetic Fe-oxidizing communities are common at diffuse-flow hydrothermal vents throughout the world’s oceans. The foundational members of these communities are the Zetaproteobacteria, a class of Proteobacteria that is primarily associated with ecosystems fueled by ferrous iron, Fe(II). We report here the discovery of two new isolates of Zetaproteobacteria isolated from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (TAG-1), and the Mariana back-arc (SV-108), that are unique in that they can utilize either Fe(II) or molecular hydrogen (H(2)) as sole electron donor and oxygen as terminal electron acceptor for growth. Both strains precipitated Fe-oxyhydroxides as amorphous particulates. The cell doubling time on H(2) vs Fe(II) for TAG-1 was 14.1 vs 21.8 h, and for SV-108 it was 16.3 vs 20 h, and it appeared both strains could use either H(2) or Fe(II) simultaneously. The strains were close relatives, based on genomic analysis, and both possessed genes for the uptake NiFe-hydrogenase required for growth on H(2). These two strains belong to Zetaproteobacteria operational taxonomic unit 9 (ZetaOTU9). A meta-analysis of public databases found ZetaOTU9 was only associated with Fe(II)-rich habitats, and not in other environments where known H(2)-oxidizers exist. These results expand the metabolic repertoire of the Zetaproteobacteria, yet confirm that Fe(II) metabolism is the primary driver of their physiology and ecology.