Publikationsdatum:
2022-05-26
Beschreibung:
© The Author(s), 2016. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Scientific Reports 6 (2016): 22541, doi:10.1038/srep22541.
Beschreibung:
The rock-hosted, oceanic crustal aquifer is one of the largest ecosystems on Earth, yet little is known about its indigenous microorganisms. Here we provide the first phylogenetic and functional description of an active microbial community residing in the cold oxic crustal aquifer. Using subseafloor observatories, we recovered crustal fluids and found that the geochemical composition is similar to bottom seawater, as are cell abundances. However, based on relative abundances and functional potential of key bacterial groups, the crustal fluid microbial community is heterogeneous and markedly distinct from seawater. Potential rates of autotrophy and heterotrophy in the crust exceeded those of seawater, especially at elevated temperatures (25°C) and deeper in the crust. Together, these results reveal an active, distinct, and diverse bacterial community engaged in both heterotrophy and autotrophy in the oxygenated crustal aquifer, providing key insight into the role of microbial communities in the ubiquitous cold dark subseafloor biosphere.
An Author Correction to this article was published on 16 April 2020
Beschreibung:
This work was supported by NSF OCE1062006 to JAH, NSF OCE1061934 to PRG, and NSF OCE1061827 to BTG. The Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations (C-DEBI) (OCE-0939564), a National Science Foundation-funded Science and Technology Centers of Excellence also supported the participation of CGW, THL, JPC, JAH, BT, and CHH, as well as JLM and UJ through C-DEBI Postdoctoral Fellowships.
Repository-Name:
Woods Hole Open Access Server
Materialart:
Article
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