Microbial mats from alkaline hot springs in the Yellowstone National Park are ideal natural laboratories to study photosynthetic life under extreme conditions, as well as the nuanced interactions of oxygenic and anoxygenic phototrophs. They represent distinctive examples of chlorophototroph (i.e., chlorophyll or bacteriochlorophyll‐based phototroph) diversity, and several novel phototrophs have been first described in these systems, all confined in space, coexisting and competing for niches defined by parameters such as light, oxygen, or temperature. In a novel approach, we employed mass spectrometry imaging of chloropigments, quinones, and intact polar lipids (IPLs) to describe the spatial distribution of different groups of chlorophototrophs along the ~ 1 cm thick microbial mat at 75 µm resolution and in the top ~ 1.5 mm green part of the mat at 25 µm resolution. We observed a fine‐tuned sequence of oxygenic and anoxygenic chlorophototrophs with distinctive biomarker signatures populating the microbial mat. The transition of oxic to anoxic conditions is characterized by an accumulation of biomarkers indicative of anoxygenic phototrophy. It is also identified as a clear boundary for different species and ecotypes, which adjust their biomarker inventory, particularly the interplay of quinones and chloropigments, to prevailing conditions. Colocalization of the different biomarker groups led to the identification of characteristic IPL signatures and indicates that glycosidic diether glycerolipids are diagnostic for anoxygenic phototrophs in this mat system. The zoom‐in into the upper green part further reveals how oxygenic and anoxygenic phototrophs share this microenvironment and informs on subtle, microscale adjustments in lipid composition of Synechococcus spp.

中文翻译：

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关于光养性空间分布的微米级快照：黄石国家公园八达通春季微生物垫的质谱成像。

黄石国家公园碱性温泉的微生物垫是研究极端条件下光合作用以及氧合和摄氧性养分之间细微相互作用的理想自然实验室。它们代表了叶绿体营养生物（即基于叶绿素或基于细菌叶绿素的植物营养生物）多样性的独特实例，并且在这些系统中首次描述了几种新颖的植物营养生物，它们都局限在空间中，并存并竞争由光，氧或水等参数定义的生态位。温度。在一种新颖的方法中，我们采用了氯色素，醌和完整极性脂质（IPL）的质谱成像技术来描述不同组的氯代光养菌沿着〜1 cm厚的微生物垫在75 µm分辨率和顶部〜1处的空间分布。 。垫子的5毫米绿色部分，分辨率为25 µm。我们观察到了微调的氧气和厌氧氯光养菌序列，在微生物垫上有独特的生物标志物签名。含氧向缺氧条件的转变以生物标志物的积累为特征，这些标志物指示产氧性光养。它也被确定为不同物种和生态类型的明确边界，从而将其生物标记物库存（尤其是醌和氯色素的相互作用）调整到当前条件。不同生物标志物基团的共定位导致特征性IPL签名的鉴定，并表明糖苷二醚甘油脂可诊断该垫系统中的产氧营养养分。聚球藻属。