Mobile genetic elements (MGEs) like plasmids, viruses, and transposable elements can provide fitness benefits to their hosts for survival in the presence of environmental stressors. Heavy metal resistance genes (HMRGs) are frequently observed on MGEs, suggesting that MGEs may be an important driver of adaptive evolution in environments contaminated with heavy metals. Here, we report the meta-mobilome of the heavy metal-contaminated regions of the Oak Ridge Reservation subsurface. This meta-mobilome was compared with one derived from samples collected from unimpacted regions of the Oak Ridge Reservation subsurface. We assembled 1615 unique circularized DNA elements that we propose to be MGEs. The circular elements from the highly contaminated subsurface were enriched in HMRG clusters relative to those from the nearby unimpacted regions. Additionally, we found that these HMRGs were associated with Gamma and Betaproteobacteria hosts in the contaminated subsurface and potentially facilitate the persistence and dominance of these taxa in this region. Finally, the HMRGs were associated with conjugative elements, suggesting their potential for future lateral transfer. We demonstrate how our understanding of MGE ecology, evolution, and function can be enhanced through the genomic context provided by completed MGE assemblies.
Nitrous oxide (N2O), a greenhouse gas with ozone destruction potential, is mitigated by the microbial reduction to dinitrogen catalyzed by N2O reductase (NosZ). Bacteria with NosZ activity have been studied at circumneutral pH but the microbiology of low pH N2O reduction has remained elusive. Acidic (pH < 5) tropical forest soils were collected in the Luquillo Experimental Forest in Puerto Rico, and microcosms maintained with low (0.02 mM) and high (2 mM) N2O assessed N2O reduction at pH 4.5 and 7.3. All microcosms consumed N2O, with lag times of up to 7 months observed in microcosms with 2 mM N2O. Comparative metagenome analysis revealed that Rhodocyclaceae dominated in circumneutral microcosms under both N2O feeding regimes. At pH 4.5, Peptococcaceae dominated in high-N2O, and Hyphomicrobiaceae in low-N2O microcosms. Seventeen high-quality metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) recovered from the N2O-reducing microcosms harbored nos operons, with all eight MAGs derived from acidic microcosms carrying the Clade II type nosZ and lacking nitrite reductase genes (nirS/K). Five of the eight MAGs recovered from pH 4.5 microcosms represent novel taxa indicating an unexplored N2O-reducing diversity exists in acidic tropical soils. A survey of pH 3.5-5.7 soil metagenome datasets revealed that nosZ genes commonly occur, suggesting broad distribution of N2O reduction potential in acidic soils.