Articles | Volume 22, issue 7
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1853-2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1853-2025
Research article
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15 Apr 2025
Research article | Highlight paper |  | 15 Apr 2025

The energy-efficient reductive tricarboxylic acid cycle drives carbon uptake and transfer to higher trophic levels within the Kueishantao shallow-water hydrothermal system

Joely M. Maak, Yu-Shih Lin, Enno Schefuß, Rebecca F. Aepfler, Li-Lian Liu, Marcus Elvert, and Solveig I. Bühring

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Cited articles

Aepfler, R. F., Bühring, S. I., and Elvert, M.: Substrate characteristic bacterial fatty acid production based on amino acid assimilation and transformation in marine sediments, FEMS Microbiol. Ecol., 95, fiz131, https://doi.org/10.1093/femsec/fiz131, 2019. 
Allen, G. J. P., Kuan, P.-L., Tseng, Y.-C., Hwang, P.-P., Quijada-Rodriguez, A. R., and Weihrauch, D.: Specialized adaptations allow vent-endemic crabs (Xenograpsus testudinatus) to thrive under extreme environmental hypercapnia, Sci. Rep., 10, 11720, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-68656-1, 2020. 
Assié, A., Leisch, N., Meier, D., Gruber-Vodicka, H., Tegetmeyer, H., Meyerdirks, A., Kleiner, M., Hinzke, T., Joye, S., Saxton, M., Dubilier, N., and Petersen, J.: Horizontal acquisition of a patchwork Calvin cycle by symbiotic and free-living Campylobacterota (formerly Epsilonproteobacteria), ISME J., 14, 104–122, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41396-019-0508-7, 2020. 
Bradley, A. S., Hayes, J. M., and Summons, R. E.: Extraordinary 13C enrichment of diether lipids at the Lost City Hydrothermal Field indicates a carbon-limited ecosystem, Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 73, 102–118, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2008.10.005, 2009. 
Callac, N., Posth, N. R., Rattray, J. E., Yamoah, K. K. Y., Wiech, A., Ivarsson, M., Hemmingsson, C., Kilias, S. P., Argyraki, A., Broman, C., Skogby, H., Smittenberg, R. H., and Fru, E. C.: Modes of carbon fixation in an arsenic and CO2-rich shallow hydrothermal ecosystem, Sci. Rep., 7, 14708, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-13910-2, 2017. 
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Co-editor-in-chief
This study presents new insights into autotrophic carbon fixation in shallow-water hydrothermal systems, emphasizing the dominance of reductive tricarboxylic acid (rTCA) cycle-utilizing Campylobacteria. Low isotopic fractionation values in vent fluids, possibly due to very acidic pH levels, extend the isotopic fractionation range of rTCA. The study also highlights the ecological significance of chemosynthetically fixed carbon, observed in higher trophic levels like the vent endemic crab Xenograpsus testudinatus, improving our understanding of carbon cycling in extreme environments and the interplay between microbial chemosynthesis and higher organisms.
Short summary
In acidic hot springs off Kueishantao, Campylobacteria fix CO2 by using the reductive tricarboxylic acid (rTCA) cycle, causing them to have an isotopically heavier biomass. Here, we report extremely low isotopic fractionation (of almost 0 ‰), which has never been reported in environmental samples. Moreover, the crab Xenograpsus testudinatus relies up to 34 % on campylobacterial biomass, highlighting the dependency of complex life on microscopic Bacteria in harsh environments.
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