Drops to data: Harnessing the power of community science to decode aquatic microbiomes

Predicting elemental cycles and maintaining water quality under increasing anthropogenic influence requires understanding the spatial drivers of river microbiomes. However, the unifying microbial determinants governing river biogeochemistry are hindered by a lack of genome-resolved functional insights and sampling across multiple rivers. To address the fundamental question of how microbial community composition and metabolic function varies across river basins, we employed a community science effort reliant on collaborations with over 150 scientists to facilitate the sampling of >500 surface water samples across the globe. Microbiomes from all sites were characterized using genome resolved metagenomics, offering an unprecedented sampling of the microbial strains and their functional contributions to river biogeochemistry. To openly share this content, we created the Genome Resolved Open Watershed database (GROWdb), which contains the identity and distribution of thousands of unique microbial genomes across rivers. This spatial sampling scheme coupled to a breadth of ecological dimensions (e.g. stream order, chemistry, land use) enabled us to systematically identify the most cosmopolitan microbiome members within the Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Bacteroidetes, while also revealing local drivers of strain specific endemism. Approximately a third of the samples have paired metatranscriptomes and metabolomes, highlighting members of the Methylopumilus, Polynucleobacter, and Planktophila as highly active community members. Notably, we provide the first evidence that microbial functional trait expression followed the tenets of the River Continuum Concept, suggesting the structure and function of river microbiomes is predictable. GROWdb is a publicly available resource that paves the way for watershed predictive modeling and microbiome-based management practices.

Tutorial/Invited: Invited, Tutorial

Primary Presenter: Mikayla Borton, Colorado State University (mborton@colostate.edu)

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