Tracking the evolution of our planet using large scale geochemistry and metagenomic data

Abstract

The biosphere and geosphere have co-evolved extensively over the last ~4 billion years of our planet's history, leaving evidence in the current composition of Earth's atmosphere, its mineral inventory, and the diversity of ecological niches present on the planet. Despite this, tracking the complex set of feedbacks likely responsible for our planet's sustained habitably is a difficult task, in part due to the complex nature of the system and also due to the limited amount of cross-referenced geochemical and biological data collected globally. We present here results from a globally distributed dataset of >1,000 metagenomes from geothermally influenced environments linked to their geological and geochemical setting. We have identified cohesive clusters of enzymatic encoded biological functions that track coherent geochemical regimes, linked to the underlying geology. Our results provide new evidence of geosphere-biosphere co-evolution and highlight a complex set of positive feedback mechanisms that have self-amplified to increase the diversity of possible metabolic functions available during life's evolution. The expansion of possible metabolic strategies has, in turn, influenced the geochemical makeup of different environments.