Biology subjects

Vetriani, C.

Publications and source records attributed to Vetriani, C..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

The microbiology and geochemistry of the shallow-water hydrothermal vents of the Gulf of Naples, Italy

Shallow-water hydrothermal vents are dynamic ecosystems that occur below 200 m in tectonically active regions of the planet. While their geochemical composition has been investigated in several locations, knowledge about the microbial diversity they harbour remains scarce. Moreover, the relationships between hydrothermal fluid chemistry, geological settings and microbial community structure in shallow vents have not been explored in detail. Here, we investigate the interplay between fluid geochemistry and microbial diversity in two underwater volcanic regions in the Gulf of Naples, Italy, one under the influence of the Somma-Vesuvio volcano and the other located within the underwater portion of the Campi Flegrei caldera. By combining 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing with geochemical measurements, and by contextualizing it with previous geochemical measurements done in the region, we found that hydrothermal fluid chemistry, influenced by the geological setting where the vents are hosted, plays a key role in shaping microbial ecological niches, and imposes strong selective pressures on the resident microbial communities. We additionally describe two new shallow vent sites, contributing to the characterization of the hydrothermalism in the area and unveiling the biodiversity associated with shallow-water hydrothermalism in the region.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2025

Tectonic setting shapes microbial biosynthetic potential across global geothermal environments

Microbial communities in geothermal environments constitute an underexplored reservoir of biosynthetic gene clusters with significant biotechnological potential. Here, we investigate the secondary metabolite potential of 219 microbial communities across marine and continental geothermal field sites, encompassing broad environmental gradients in temperature (4.7{degrees}C to 93.5{degrees}C), pH (0.85 to 10.3), and tectonic setting, including volcanic arcs, backarcs, divergent margins at on-axis mid-ocean ridges, post-subduction extensional arcs, and paleo-convergent intraplate plume systems. We identified 9,019 putative new biosynthetic gene cluster families, mostly lacking similarity to known biosynthetic gene clusters. Volcanic arc systems consistently exhibit the highest diversity of biosynthetic repertoires, whereas intraplate plume systems showed a greater representation of terpene-associated gene cluster families. In contrast, divergent margin systems were primarily characterized by nonribosomal peptide synthetases and ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides pathways, together accounting for a large fraction of their predicted biosynthetic diversity. These findings suggest that tectonic context could be associated with large-scale patterns in microbial biosynthetic potential and provide a geobiological framework for guiding natural product discovery in geothermal ecosystems.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2025

Trace metals availability controls terminal electron acceptor utilization in Escherichia coli

Trace metals play an essential role in the metabolism of all living organisms and many metal-containing enzymes contribute to key physiological and ecological processes such as aerobic and anaerobic respiration, photosynthesis, carbon and nitrogen fixation. Despite this, trace metals potential to control microbial functional diversity and metabolic shifts is unknown. Here we demonstrate that the availability of trace metals controls electron acceptors utilization in Escherichia coli. Physiological and proteomic data show that trace metals depleted cultures have significantly reduced growth, start fermentation and increase energy expenditure for metal homeostasis even when more energetically favourable electron acceptors are present. Overall these results suggest how evolutionary and competitive pressures arising from changes in biological trace metals availability in deep time have contributed to shaping evolution and competition.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2020

Metaproteogenomic profiling of chemosynthetic microbial biofilms reveals metabolic flexibility during colonization of a shallow-water gas vent

Tor Caldara is a shallow-water gas vent located in the Mediterranean Sea, with active venting of CO2, H2S. At Tor Caldara, filamentous microbial biofilms, mainly composed of Epsilon- and Gammaproteobacteria, grow on substrates exposed to the gas venting. In this study, we took a metaproteogenomic approach to identify the metabolic potential and in situ expression of central metabolic pathways at two stages of biofilm maturation. Our findings indicate that inorganic reduced sulfur species are the main electron donors and CO2 the main carbon source for the filamentous biofilms, which conserve energy by oxygen and nitrate respiration, fix dinitrogen gas and detoxify heavy metals. Three metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs), representative of key members in the biofilm community, were also recovered. Metaproteomic data show that metabolically active chemoautotrophic sulfide-oxidizing members of the Epsilonproteobacteria dominated the young microbial biofilms, while Gammaproteobacteria become prevalent in the established community. The co-expression of different pathways for sulfide oxidation by these two classes of bacteria suggests exposure to different sulfide concentrations within the biofilms, as well as fine-tuned adaptations of the enzymatic complexes. Taken together, our findings demonstrate a shift in the taxonomic composition and associated metabolic activity of these biofilms in the course of the colonization process.

microbiology↗