Jaekel Ulrike

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Jaekel
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Ulrike
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  • Article
    A distinct and active bacterial community in cold oxygenated fluids circulating beneath the western flank of the Mid-Atlantic ridge
    (Nature Publishing Group, 2016-03-03) Meyer, Julie L. ; Jaekel, Ulrike ; Tully, Benjamin J. ; Glazer, Brian T. ; Wheat, C. Geoffrey ; Lin, Huei-Ting ; Hsieh, Chih-Chiang ; Cowen, James P. ; Hulme, Samuel M. ; Girguis, Peter R. ; Huber, Julie A.
    The rock-hosted, oceanic crustal aquifer is one of the largest ecosystems on Earth, yet little is known about its indigenous microorganisms. Here we provide the first phylogenetic and functional description of an active microbial community residing in the cold oxic crustal aquifer. Using subseafloor observatories, we recovered crustal fluids and found that the geochemical composition is similar to bottom seawater, as are cell abundances. However, based on relative abundances and functional potential of key bacterial groups, the crustal fluid microbial community is heterogeneous and markedly distinct from seawater. Potential rates of autotrophy and heterotrophy in the crust exceeded those of seawater, especially at elevated temperatures (25°C) and deeper in the crust. Together, these results reveal an active, distinct, and diverse bacterial community engaged in both heterotrophy and autotrophy in the oxygenated crustal aquifer, providing key insight into the role of microbial communities in the ubiquitous cold dark subseafloor biosphere. An Author Correction to this article was published on 16 April 2020
  • Article
    Genome and proteome analyses show the gaseous alkane degrader Desulfosarcina sp. strain BuS5 as an extreme metabolic specialist
    (Society for Applied Microbiology, 2022-03-07) Chen, Song-Can ; Ji, Jiaheng ; Popp, Denny ; Jaekel, Ulrike ; Richnow, Hans-Hermann ; Sievert, Stefan M. ; Musat, Florin
    The metabolic potential of the sulfate-reducing bacterium Desulfosarcina sp. strain BuS5, currently the only pure culture able to oxidize the volatile alkanes propane and butane without oxygen, was investigated via genomics, proteomics and physiology assays. Complete genome sequencing revealed that strain BuS5 encodes a single alkyl-succinate synthase, an enzyme which apparently initiates oxidation of both propane and butane. The formed alkyl-succinates are oxidized to CO2 via beta oxidation and the oxidative Wood–Ljungdahl pathways as shown by proteogenomics analyses. Strain BuS5 conserves energy via the canonical sulfate reduction pathway and electron bifurcation. An ability to utilize long-chain fatty acids, mannose and oligopeptides, suggested by automated annotation pipelines, was not supported by physiology assays and in-depth analyses of the corresponding genetic systems. Consistently, comparative genomics revealed a streamlined BuS5 genome with a remarkable paucity of catabolic modules. These results establish strain BuS5 as an exceptional metabolic specialist, able to grow only with propane and butane, for which we propose the name Desulfosarcina aeriophaga BuS5. This highly restrictive lifestyle, most likely the result of habitat-driven evolutionary gene loss, may provide D. aeriophaga BuS5 a competitive edge in sediments impacted by natural gas seeps.