Recent discussion focuses on the best method for delineating microbial taxa, based on either exact sequence variants (ESVs) or traditional operational taxonomic units (OTUs) of marker gene sequences. We sought to test if the binning approach (ESVs versus 97% OTUs) affected the ecological conclusions of a large field study. The data set included sequences targeting all bacteria (16S rRNA) and fungi (internal transcribed spacer [ITS]), across multiple environments diverging markedly in abiotic conditions, over three collection times. Despite quantitative differences in microbial richness, we found that all α and β diversity metrics were highly positively correlated (r > 0.90) between samples analyzed with both approaches. Moreover, the community composition of the dominant taxa did not vary between approaches. Consequently, statistical inferences were nearly indistinguishable. Furthermore, ESVs only moderately increased the genetic resolution of fungal and bacterial diversity (1.3 and 2.1 times OTU richness, respectively). We conclude that for broadscale (e.g., all bacteria or all fungi) α and β diversity analyses, ESV or OTU methods will often reveal similar ecological results. Thus, while there are good reasons to employ ESVs, we need not question the validity of results based on OTUs.IMPORTANCE Microbial ecologists have made exceptional improvements in our understanding of microbiomes in the last decade due to breakthroughs in sequencing technologies. These advances have wide-ranging implications for fields ranging from agriculture to human health. Due to limitations in databases, the majority of microbial ecology studies use a binning approach to approximate taxonomy based on DNA sequence similarity. There remains extensive debate on the best way to bin and approximate this taxonomy. Here we examine two popular approaches using a large field-based data set examining both bacteria and fungi and conclude that there are not major differences in the ecological outcomes. Thus, it appears that standard microbial community analyses are not overly sensitive to the particulars of binning approaches.

Produced water (PW) from oil and gas production contains variable constituents that are difficult to remove with conventional treatment processes. The focus of this study was to explore the long-term performance of a membrane bioreactor (MBR) for the removal of organic constituents from PW and how performance and microbial community composition are affected by progressively increasing salinity and introduction of PW from different shale basins around the United States. Dissolved organic carbon removal from the PW remained consistent throughout the study, averaging 86% from the Denver-Julesburg basin PW and 66% removal from the Permian basin PW. Surfactant removal was less consistent, showing 87% removal of poly(ethylene glycols) (PEGs) at a total dissolved solid (TDS) concentration of 40 g/L but only 58% removal at a TDS concentration of 100 g/L. Diversity in the microbial community decreased during reactor establishment but increased at TDS concentrations above 80 g/L. The results of this study suggest that MBRs can be effective PW pretreatment processes even at high salinities.

Termite gut flagellates are typically colonized by specific bacterial symbionts. Here we describe the phylogeny, ultrastructure and subcellular location of 'Candidatus Adiutrix intracellularis', an intracellular symbiont of Trichonympha collaris in the termite Zootermopsis nevadensis. It represents a novel, deep-branching clade of uncultured Deltaproteobacteria widely distributed in intestinal tracts of termites and cockroaches. Fluorescence in situ hybridization and transmission electron microscopy localized the endosymbiont near hydrogenosomes in the posterior part and near the ectosymbiont 'Candidatus Desulfovibrio trichonymphae' in the anterior part of the host cell. The draft genome of 'Ca. Adiutrix intracellularis' obtained from a metagenomic library revealed the presence of a complete gene set encoding the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway, including two homologs of fdhF encoding hydrogenase-linked formate dehydrogenases (FDHH ) and all other components of the recently described hydrogen-dependent carbon dioxide reductase (HDCR) complex, which substantiates previous claims that the symbiont is capable of reductive acetogenesis from CO2 and H2 . The close phylogenetic relationship between the HDCR components and their homologs in homoacetogenic Firmicutes and Spirochaetes suggests that the deltaproteobacterium acquired the capacity for homoacetogenesis via lateral gene transfer. The presence of genes for nitrogen fixation and the biosynthesis of amino acids and cofactors indicate the nutritional nature of the symbiosis.