Publication Date:
2022-05-26
Description:
© The Author(s), 2020. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Seyler, L. M., Trembath-Reichert, E., Tully, B. J., & Huber, J. A. Time-series transcriptomics from cold, oxic subseafloor crustal fluids reveals a motile, mixotrophic microbial community. Isme Journal, (2020), doi:10.1038/s41396-020-00843-4.
Description:
The oceanic crustal aquifer is one of the largest habitable volumes on Earth, and it harbors a reservoir of microbial life that influences global-scale biogeochemical cycles. Here, we use time series metagenomic and metatranscriptomic data from a low-temperature, ridge flank environment representative of the majority of global hydrothermal fluid circulation in the ocean to reconstruct microbial metabolic potential, transcript abundance, and community dynamics. We also present metagenome-assembled genomes from recently collected fluids that are furthest removed from drilling disturbances. Our results suggest that the microbial community in the North Pond aquifer plays an important role in the oxidation of organic carbon within the crust. This community is motile and metabolically flexible, with the ability to use both autotrophic and organotrophic pathways, as well as function under low oxygen conditions by using alternative electron acceptors such as nitrate and thiosulfate. Anaerobic processes are most abundant in subseafloor horizons deepest in the aquifer, furthest from connectivity with the deep ocean, and there was little overlap in the active microbial populations between sampling horizons. This work highlights the heterogeneity of microbial life in the subseafloor aquifer and provides new insights into biogeochemical cycling in ocean crust.
Description:
The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation sponsored most of the observatory components at North Pond through grant GBMF1609. This work was supported by NSF OCE-1062006, OCE-1745589 and OCE-1635208 to J.A.H. E.T.R. was supported by a NASA Postdoctoral Fellowship with the NASA Astrobiology Institute and a L’Oréal USA For Women in Science Fellowship. The Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations (C-DEBI OCE-0939564) also supported the participation of J.A.H. and B.T. This is C-DEBI contribution number 548.
Repository Name:
Woods Hole Open Access Server
Type:
Article
