ANR project - MICROBIALITES: Biogeochemical determinants of microbialite formation

MICROBIALITES is a multi-parter project:

P1. Puri Lopez-Garcia (PI), ESE, Université Paris-Saclay

P2. Karim Benzerara (co-PI), IMPMC, Sorbonne Universités

P3. Christophe Thomazo, Université de Bourgogne

P4. Yvan Zivanovic, I2BC, Université Paris-Saclay

External collaboration: Rosaluz Tavera (UNAM, México)

MICROBIALITES is an interdisciplinary project at the geology-chemistry-biology interface to decipher microbialite formation process from the nanoscale to the macroscale. Stromatolites and, more generally, microbialites are organosedimentary structures formed under the influence of phylogenetically and functionally diverse microbial communities in interaction with abiotic factors. They are C reservoirs (as biomass and carbonates) on the geological time scale. Fossil stromatolites represent the oldest undisputed evidence of life on Earth (~3.7 Ga). Yet, the specific identity and functions of associated microorganisms and the local environmental conditions resulting in their formation and long-term preservation are poorly understood. We will combine different types of analyses (‘omics’ methods, (cryo)microscopy, morphology, mineralogy, stable isotopes) to culture-based carbonatogenesis experiments and natural microbialites from freshwater systems (Mexican crater lakes) to identify common determinants of microbialite formation.

Publications

1. Zeyen N, Menguy N, Brest J, Templeton AS, Webb SM, Gerard E, Moreira D, López-García P, Tavera R, Morin G (2019) Fe-bearing phases in modern lacustrine microbialites from Mexico. Geochim Cosmochim Acta, 253:201–230
2. Saghaï A, Zivanovic Y, Moreira D, Tavera R, López-García P (2020) A novel microbialite-associated phototrophic Chloroflexi lineage exhibiting a clonal pattern along depth. Genome Biol Evol, 12: 1207–1216
3. Iniesto M, Moreira D, Reboul G, Deschamps P, Benzerara K, Bertolino P, Saghaï A, Tavera R, López-García P (2021) Core microbial communities of lacustrine microbialites sampled along an alkalinity gradient. Environ Microbiol 23: 51-68
4. Zeyen N, Benzerara K, Beyssac O, Daval D, Bouchez J, Gaillardet J, Thomazo C, Tavera R, López-García P, Moreira D, Duprat (2021) Integrative analysis of the mineralogical and chemical composition of modern microbialites from ten Mexican lakes: what do we learn about their formation? Geochim Cosmochim Acta, 305:148–184
5. Iniesto M, Benzerara K, Moreira D, Muller E, Bertolino P, Tavera R, López-García P. (2021) Rapid microbialite formation dynamics in Lake Alchichica. Environ Microbiol Rep, 13:600-605
6. Iniesto M, Moreira D, Benzerara K, Reboul G, Bertolino P,Tavera R, López-García P, (2022) Planktonic microbial communities from microbialite-bearing lakes sampled along a salinity-alkalinity gradient. Limnol Oceanogr, 67: 2718-2733
7. Muller E, Rapin W, Caumartin J, Jezequel D, De Wever A, Thomazo C, Havas R, López-García P, Moreira D, Tavera R, Benzerara K (2023) Diagenetic formation of stevensite by replacement of diatom frustules in the sediments of the alkaline Lake Alchichica (Mexico). Sedimentology, 70: 1013-1038, https://doi.org/10.1111/sed.13069
8. Benzerara K, Elmaleh A, Ciobanu M, De Wever A, Bertolino P, Iniesto M, Jézéquel D, López-García P, Menguy N, Muller E, Skouri-Panet F, Swaraj S, Tavera R, Thomazo C, Moreira D (2023). Biomineralization of amorphous Fe-, Mn- and Si-rich mineral phases by cyanobacteria under oxic and alkaline conditions. Biogeosciences 20, 4183-4195. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4183-2023
9. Havas R, Thomazo C, Iniesto M, Jézéquel D, Moreira D, Tavera R, Caumartin J, Muller E, López-García P, Benzerara K (2023) Biogeochemical processes captured by carbon isotopes in redox-stratified water columns: a comparative study of four modern stratified lakes along an alkalinity gradient. Biogeosciences, 20: 2347-2367. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2347-2023
10. Havas R, Thomazo C, Iniesto M, Jézéquel D, Moreira D, Tavera R, Caumartin J, Muller E, López-García P, Benzerara K (2023) The hidden role of dissolved organic carbon in the biogeochemical cycle of carbon in modern redox-stratified lakes, Biogeosci. 20: 2405–2424, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2405-2023