Metagenomic and metabolic analyses of poly-extreme microbiome from an active crater volcano lake

El Chich ' on volcano is one of the most active volcanoes in Mexico. Previous studies have described its polyextreme conditions and its bacterial composition, although the functional features of the complete microbiome have not been characterized yet. By using metabarcoding analysis, metagenomics, metabolomics and enzymology techniques, the microbiome of the crater lake was characterized in this study. New information is provided on the taxonomic and functional diversity of the representative Archaea phyla, Crenarchaeota and Euryarchaeota, as well as those that are representative of Bacteria, Thermotogales and Aquificae. With culture of microbial consortia and with the genetic information collected from the natural environment sampling, metabolic interactions were identified between prokaryotes, which can withstand multiple extreme conditions. The existence of a close relationship between the biogeochemical cycles of carbon and sulfur in an active volcano has been proposed, while the relationship in the energy metabolism of thermoacidophilic bacteria and archaea in this multi-extreme environment was biochemically revealed for the first time. These findings contribute towards understanding microbial metabolism under extreme conditions, and provide potential knowledge pertaining to microbial dark matter, which can be applied to biotechnological processes and evolutionary studies.

Automated summary

This study characterized the microbiome of the crater lake of the El Chichón volcano in Mexico, revealing taxonomic and functional diversity of representative Archaea and Bacteria phyla. Metabolic interactions between prokaryotes in this multi-extreme environment were identified, contributing to the understanding of microbial metabolism under extreme conditions. This research provides potential knowledge that can be applied to biotechnological processes and evolutionary studies.