Chemical Profiling Provides Insights into the Metabolic Machinery of Hydrocarbon-Degrading Deep-Sea Microbes
Aldo Moreno‐Ulloa, Victoria Sicairos Diaz, Javier Andres Tejeda Mora, Marla I. Macias Contreras, Fernando Díaz Castillo, Abraham Guerrero, Ricardo González-Sánchez, Omar Mendoza‐Porras, Rafael Vázquez Duhalt, Alexei F. Licea-Navarro
Abstract
High-throughput technologies and emerging informatics tools have significantly advanced knowledge of hydrocarbon metabolism by marine microbes. However, research into microbes inhabiting deep-sea sediments (>1,000 m) is limited compared to those found in shallow waters. In this study, a nontargeted and nonclassical approach was used to examine the diversity of bacterial taxa and the metabolic profiles of hydrocarbon-degrading deep-sea microbes. In conclusion, this study used metabolomics and chemoinformatics to demonstrate that microbes from deep-sea sediment origin thrive in the presence of toxic and difficult-to-metabolize hydrocarbons. Notably, this study provides evidence of previously unreported metabolites and the global chemical repertoire associated with the metabolism of hydrocarbons by deep-sea microbes.