Publication Date:
2003-01-04
Description:
Little is known about the potential for life in the vast, low-temperature (〈100 degrees C) reservoir of fluids within mid-ocean ridge flank and ocean basin crust. Recently, an overpressured 300-meter-deep borehole was fitted with an experimental seal (CORK) delivering crustal fluids to the sea floor for discrete and large-volume sampling and characterization. Results demonstrate that the 65 degrees C fluids from 3.5-million-year-old ocean crust support microbial growth. Ribosomal RNA gene sequence data indicate the presence of diverse Bacteria and Archaea, including gene clones of varying degrees of relatedness to known nitrate reducers (with ammonia production), thermophilic sulfate reducers, and thermophilic fermentative heterotrophs, all consistent with fluid chemistry.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Cowen, James P -- Giovannoni, Stephen J -- Kenig, Fabien -- Johnson, H Paul -- Butterfield, David -- Rappe, Michael S -- Hutnak, Michael -- Lam, Phyllis -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2003 Jan 3;299(5603):120-3.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Oceanography, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA. jcowen@soest.hawaii.edu〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12511653" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉
Keywords:
Ammonia/analysis/metabolism
;
Archaea/cytology/*genetics/isolation & purification/physiology
;
Bacteria/cytology/*growth & development/isolation & purification/metabolism
;
Bacterial Physiological Phenomena
;
Carboxylic Acids/metabolism
;
Electrons
;
Fermentation
;
Genes, rRNA
;
Geologic Sediments/*microbiology
;
Hydrocarbons/metabolism
;
Hydrogen/metabolism
;
Hydrogen Sulfide/analysis/metabolism
;
Nitrates/analysis/metabolism
;
Nitrogen Fixation
;
Oxidation-Reduction
;
Pacific Ocean
;
Phylogeny
;
Seawater/chemistry/*microbiology
;
Sulfates/analysis/metabolism
;
Temperature
Print ISSN:
0036-8075
Electronic ISSN:
1095-9203
Topics:
Biology
,
Chemistry and Pharmacology
,
Computer Science
,
Medicine
,
Natural Sciences in General
,
Physics
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