RESUMO
The present study addresses the microbiome of the first whale fall (YOKO 16) that has been described in the deep sea in the southern Atlantic Ocean (São Paulo Plateau; 4204â¯m depth), in terms of its metabolic uniqueness. Sets of ten thousand protein sequences from YOKO 16 and 29 public domain metagenomes (SRA and GenBank databases) that represent various marine, terrestrial and gut-associated microbial communities were analyzed. The determination of protein functionality, based on the KAAS server, indicated that the YOKO 16 microbiome has industrially-relevant proteins, such as proteases and lipases, that have low similarity (~50%) with previously-described enzymes. The amino acid usage in the YOKO 16 protein sequences (based on blastp and Clustal analysis) revealed a pattern of preference similar to that of extremophiles, with an increased usage of polar, charged and acidic amino acids and a decreased usage of nonpolar residues. We concluded that the targeted microbiome is of potential biotechnological use, which justifies the allocation of resources for the discovery of enzymes in deep-sea whale fall communities.
Assuntos
Proteínas de Bactérias/genética , Metagenoma , Microbiota , Seleção Genética , Baleias/microbiologia , Animais , Oceano Atlântico , Proteínas de Bactérias/metabolismoRESUMO
Whale carcasses create remarkable habitats in the deep-sea by producing concentrated sources of organic matter for a food-deprived biota as well as places of evolutionary novelty and biodiversity. Although many of the faunal patterns on whale falls have already been described, the biogeography of these communities is still poorly known especially from basins other than the NE Pacific Ocean. The present work describes the community composition of the deepest natural whale carcass described to date found at 4204 m depth on Southwest Atlantic Ocean with manned submersible Shinkai 6500. This is the first record of a natural whale fall in the deep Atlantic Ocean. The skeleton belonged to an Antarctic Minke whale composed of only nine caudal vertebrae, whose degradation state suggests it was on the bottom for 5-10 years. The fauna consisted mainly of galatheid crabs, a new species of the snail Rubyspira and polychaete worms, including a new Osedax species. Most of the 41 species found in the carcass are new to science, with several genera shared with NE Pacific whale falls and vent and seep ecosystems. This similarity suggests the whale-fall fauna is widespread and has dispersed in a stepping stone fashion, deeply influencing its evolutionary history.