scholarly journals Geological processes mediate a subsurface microbial loop in the deep biosphere

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Gittins ◽  
Pierre-Arnaud Desiage ◽  
Natasha Morrison ◽  
Jayne E Rattray ◽  
Srijak Bhatnagar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Deep Sea ◽  
Thermophilic Bacteria ◽  
Microbial Loop ◽  
Deep Biosphere ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Petroleum Systems ◽  
Environmental Selection ◽  
Geological Processes ◽  
Bacterial Endospores ◽  
Migration Pathways

The deep biosphere is the largest microbial habitat on Earth and features abundant bacterial endospores1,2. Whereas dormancy and survival at theoretical energy minima are hallmarks of subsurface microbial populations3, the roles of fundamental ecological processes like dispersal and selection in these environments are poorly understood4. Here we combine geophysics, geochemistry, microbiology and genomics to investigate biogeography in the subsurface, focusing on bacterial endospores in a deep-sea setting characterized by thermogenic hydrocarbon seepage. Thermophilic endospores in permanently cold seabed sediments above petroleum seep conduits were correlated with the presence of hydrocarbons, revealing geofluid-facilitated cell migration pathways originating in deep oil reservoirs. Genomes of thermophilic bacteria highlight adaptations to life in anoxic petroleum systems and reveal that these dormant populations are closely related to oil reservoir microbiomes from around the world. After transport out of the subsurface and into the deep-sea, thermophilic endospores re-enter the geosphere by sedimentation. Viable thermophilic endospores spanning the top several metres of the seabed correspond with total endospore counts that are similar to or exceed the global average. Burial of dormant cells enables their environmental selection in sedimentary formations where new petroleum systems establish, completing a geological microbial loop that circulates living biomass in and out of the deep biosphere.

Deep Biosphere of the Oceanic Deep Sea

2011 ◽  
pp. 317-322
Author(s):  
Kristina Rathsack ◽  
Nadia-Valérie Quéric ◽  
Joachim Reitner
Keyword(s):  
Deep Sea ◽  
Deep Biosphere

Taxonomic Dependency of Beta Diversity for Bacteria, Archaea and Fungi in a Semi-Arid Lake

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haijun Yuan ◽  
Weizhen Zhang ◽  
Huaqun Yin ◽  
Runyu Zhang ◽  
Jianjun Wang
Keyword(s):  
Water Depth ◽  
Beta Diversity ◽  
Species Turnover ◽  
Environmental Drivers ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Environmental Selection ◽  
Community Variation ◽  
Taxonomic Groups ◽  
Semi Arid ◽  
Total Beta

Abstract Microbial beta diversity has been recently studied along the water depth in aquatic ecosystems, however its turnover and nestedness components remain elusive especially for multiple taxonomic groups. Based on the beta diversity partitioning developed by Baselga and Local Contributions to Beta Diversity (LCBD) partitioning by Legendre, we examined the water-depth variations in beta diversity components of bacteria, archaea and fungi in surface sediments of Hulun Lake, a semi-arid lake in northern China, and further explored the relative importance of environmental drivers underlying their patterns. We found that the relative abundances of Proteobacteria, Chloroflexi, Euryarchaeota and Rozellomycota increased towards deep water, while Acidobacteria, Parvarchaeota and Chytridiomycota decreased. For bacteria and archaea, there were significant (P < 0.05) decreasing water-depth patterns for LCBD and LCBDRepl (i.e., species replacement), while increasing patterns for total beta diversity and turnover, implying that total beta diversity and LCBD were dominated by species turnover or LCBDRepl. Further, bacteria showed a strong correlation with archaea regarding LCBD, total beta diversity and turnover. Such parallel patterns among bacteria and archaea were underpinned by similar ecological processes like environmental selection. Total beta diversity and turnover were largely affected by sediment total nitrogen, while LCBD and LCBDRepl were mainly constrained by water NO2−-N and NO3−-N. For fungal community variation, no significant patterns were observed, which may be due to different drivers like water nitrogen or phosphorus. Taken together, our findings provide compelling evidences for disentangling the underlying mechanisms of community variation in multiple aquatic microbial taxonomic groups.

scholarly journals Evidence for isolated evolution of deep-sea ciliate communities through geological separation and environmental selection

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Stock ◽  
Virginia Edgcomb ◽  
William Orsi ◽  
Sabine Filker ◽  
Hans-Werner Breiner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Deep Sea ◽  
Environmental Selection

scholarly journals Cutting through the smoke: the diversity of microorganisms in deep-sea hydrothermal plumes

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 160829 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anni Djurhuus ◽  
Svein-Ole Mikalsen ◽  
Helge-Ansgar Giebel ◽  
Alex D. Rogers
Keyword(s):  
Community Composition ◽  
Deep Sea ◽  
Hydrothermal Vent ◽  
Hydrothermal Vents ◽  
Microbial Community Composition ◽  
Illumina Miseq ◽  
Black Smoker ◽  
Microbial Composition ◽  
Diffuse Flow ◽  
Environmental Selection

There are still notable gaps regarding the detailed distribution of microorganisms between and within insular habitats such as deep-sea hydrothermal vents. This study investigates the community composition of black smoker vent microorganisms in the Southern Hemisphere, and changes thereof along a spatial and chemical gradient ranging from the vent plume to surrounding waters. We sampled two hydrothermal vent fields, one at the South West Indian Ridge (SWIR), the other at the East Scotia Ridge (ESR). Samples were collected across vent fields at varying vertical distances from the origin of the plumes. The microbial data were sequenced on an Illumina MiSeq platform for the 16SrRNA gene. A substantial amount of vent-specific putative chemosynthetic microorganisms were found, particularly in samples from focused hydrothermal venting. Common vent-specific organisms from both vent fields were the genera Arcobacter , Caminibacter and Sulfurimonas from the Epsilonproteobacteria and the SUP05 group from the Gammaproteobacteria. There were no major differences in microbial composition between SWIR and ESR for focused plume samples. However, within the ESR the diffuse flow and focused samples differed significantly in microbial community composition and relative abundance. For Epsilonproteobacteria, we found evidence of niche-specificity to hydrothermal vent environments. This taxon decreased in abundance by three orders of magnitude from the vent orifice to background water. Epsilonproteobacteria distribution followed a distance–decay relationship as vent-effluents mixed with the surrounding seawater. This study demonstrates strong habitat affinity of vent microorganisms on a metre scale with distinct environmental selection.

scholarly journals Comparative Metagenomic Analysis of a Microbial Community Residing at a Depth of 4,000 Meters at Station ALOHA in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre

2009 ◽  
Vol 75 (16) ◽  
pp. 5345-5355 ◽  
Author(s):  
Konstantinos T. Konstantinidis ◽  
Jennifer Braff ◽  
David M. Karl ◽  
Edward F. DeLong
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Community ◽  
Deep Sea ◽  
Sea Water ◽  
Sequence Data ◽  
Deep Biosphere ◽  
North Pacific Subtropical Gyre ◽  
Selfish Genetic Elements ◽  
The North ◽  
Metabolic Versatility ◽  
Station Aloha

ABSTRACT The deep sea (water depth of >2,000 m) represents the largest biome on Earth. Yet relatively little is known about its microbial community's structure, function, and adaptation to the cold and deep biosphere. To provide further genomic insights into deep-sea planktonic microbes, we sequenced a total of ∼200 Mbp of a random whole-genome shotgun (WGS) library from a microbial community residing at a depth of 4,000 m at Station ALOHA in the Pacific Ocean and compared it to other available WGS sequence data from surface and deep waters. Our analyses indicated that the deep-sea lifestyle is likely facilitated by a collection of very subtle adaptations, as opposed to dramatic alterations of gene content or structure. These adaptations appear to include higher metabolic versatility and genomic plasticity to cope with the sparse and sporadic energy resources available, a preference for hydrophobic and smaller-volume amino acids in protein sequences, unique proteins not found in surface-dwelling species, and adaptations at the gene expression level. The deep-sea community is also characterized by a larger average genome size and a higher content of “selfish” genetic elements, such as transposases and prophages, whose propagation is apparently favored by more relaxed purifying (negative) selection in deeper waters.

Biology of Squat Lobsters

2011 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Deep Sea ◽  
Hydrothermal Vents ◽  
Continental Margins ◽  
Red Tides ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Current State ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Taxonomic Research ◽  
Squat Lobsters ◽  
Selection Of

Squat lobsters of the superfamilies Chirostyloidea and Galatheoidea are highly visible crustaceans on seamounts, continental margins, shelf environments, hydrothermal vents and coral reefs. About 1000 species are known. They frequently feature in deep-sea images taken by submersibles and are caught in large numbers by benthic dredges. Some species are so locally abundant that they form ‘red tides’. Others support a variety of important fisheries. The taxonomy of squat lobsters has been intensively studied over the past few decades, making them one of the best known deepwater crustacean groups. As a result, they have attracted the attention of deep-sea ecologists who use them as proxies to test hypotheses about deepwater ecological processes and biogeography. Interest in squat lobsters now extends much more widely than the taxonomic research community and this work is a timely synthesis of what is known about these animals. The Biology of Squat Lobsters provides keys for identification and reviews the current state of knowledge of the taxonomy, evolution, life history, distribution, ecology and fisheries of squat lobsters. A striking feature of squat lobsters is their vivid coloration, which is revealed in a selection of spectacular images of different species. 2012 Whitley Award Commendation for Invertebrate Natural History.

scholarly journals Comparative study of vent and seep macrofaunal communities in the Guaymas Basin

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (18) ◽  
pp. 5455-5479 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Portail ◽  
K. Olu ◽  
E. Escobar-Briones ◽  
J. C. Caprais ◽  
L. Menot ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Deep Sea ◽  
Gulf Of California ◽  
Microbial Mats ◽  
Abiotic Factors ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Guaymas Basin ◽  
The Family ◽  
Family Level ◽  
Higher Temperature ◽  
Macrofaunal Community

Abstract. Understanding the ecological processes and connectivity of chemosynthetic deep-sea ecosystems requires comparative studies. In the Guaymas Basin (Gulf of California, Mexico), the presence of seeps and vents in the absence of a biogeographic barrier, and comparable sedimentary settings and depths offers a unique opportunity to assess the role of ecosystem-specific environmental conditions on macrofaunal communities. Six seep and four vent assemblages were studied, three of which were characterised by common major foundation taxa: vesicomyid bivalves, siboglinid tubeworms and microbial mats. Macrofaunal community structure at the family level showed that density, diversity and composition patterns were primarily shaped by seep- and vent-common abiotic factors including methane and hydrogen sulfide concentrations, whereas vent environmental specificities (higher temperature, higher metal concentrations and lower pH) were not significant. The type of substratum and the heterogeneity provided by foundation species were identified as additional structuring factors and their roles were found to vary according to fluid regimes. At the family level, seep and vent similarity reached at least 58 %. All vent families were found at seeps and each seep-specific family displayed low relative abundances (< 5 %). Moreover, 85 % of the identified species among dominant families were shared between seep and vent ecosystems. This study provides further support to the hypothesis of continuity among deep-sea seep and vent ecosystems.

scholarly journals Pathways for abiotic organic synthesis at submarine hydrothermal fields

2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (25) ◽  
pp. 7668-7672 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jill M. McDermott ◽  
Jeffrey S. Seewald ◽  
Christopher R. German ◽  
Sean P. Sylva
Keyword(s):  
Organic Compounds ◽  
Organic Synthesis ◽  
Deep Sea ◽  
Hot Springs ◽  
Hydrothermal Systems ◽  
Deep Biosphere ◽  
Shallow Subsurface ◽  
Microbial Life ◽  
Abiotic Organic Synthesis ◽  
Life On Earth

Arguments for an abiotic origin of low-molecular weight organic compounds in deep-sea hot springs are compelling owing to implications for the sustenance of deep biosphere microbial communities and their potential role in the origin of life. Theory predicts that warm H2-rich fluids, like those emanating from serpentinizing hydrothermal systems, create a favorable thermodynamic drive for the abiotic generation of organic compounds from inorganic precursors. Here, we constrain two distinct reaction pathways for abiotic organic synthesis in the natural environment at the Von Damm hydrothermal field and delineate spatially where inorganic carbon is converted into bioavailable reduced carbon. We reveal that carbon transformation reactions in a single system can progress over hours, days, and up to thousands of years. Previous studies have suggested that CH4 and higher hydrocarbons in ultramafic hydrothermal systems were dependent on H2 generation during active serpentinization. Rather, our results indicate that CH4 found in vent fluids is formed in H2-rich fluid inclusions, and higher n-alkanes may likely be derived from the same source. This finding implies that, in contrast with current paradigms, these compounds may form independently of actively circulating serpentinizing fluids in ultramafic-influenced systems. Conversely, widespread production of formate by ΣCO2 reduction at Von Damm occurs rapidly during shallow subsurface mixing of the same fluids, which may support anaerobic methanogenesis. Our finding of abiogenic formate in deep-sea hot springs has significant implications for microbial life strategies in the present-day deep biosphere as well as early life on Earth and beyond.

scholarly journals Ocena wpływu nasuwającego się górotworu karpackiego na przebieg procesów naftowych w utworach jego podłoża w rejonie Rzeszowa

Nafta-Gaz ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 77 (6) ◽  
pp. 351-365
Author(s):  
Karol Spunda ◽  
◽  
Tomasz Słoczyński ◽  
Krzysztof Sowiżdżał ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tectonic Evolution ◽  
Geological Structure ◽  
Source Rocks ◽  
Petroleum Exploration ◽  
Special Role ◽  
Petroleum Systems ◽  
Geological Processes ◽  
Lower Palaeozoic ◽  
Outer Carpathians

The article presents the concept of petroleum systems modeling in the area with complex fold-thrust belt structure. The aim of the study was to verify the views on the influence of the overtrusting Carpathian orogen on the course of petroleum processes in the basement (Meso-Palaeozoic) formations. The project was implemented in the marginal zone of the Skole Unit (Outer Carpathians) overlapping various structural and tectonic units of the basement. The area of Rzeszów city was selected as it presents adequate complexity of the geological structure to meet assumed methodological objectives of the project and, at the same time, provides relatively vast amount of geological data available which creates a conditions for a comprehensive approach. The study was carried out using the Dynel 2D and PetroMod 2D software. The course of the structural and tectonic evolution of the area was reconstructed in 5 stages, the results of which were subsequently applied in a dynamic modeling of the petroleum systems. The modeling results made it possible to recreate and analyze the course of a complex geological processes, the effects of which are manifested, among others, by the time and amounts of generated hydrocarbons as well as the dynamics of expulsion, migration and accumulation processes. The results show the course of petroleum processes in each stage of the petroleum basin evolution, revealing a special role of thrust tectonic of Outer Carpathians on basement formations. For the adopted assumptions of the structural and tectonic evolution, the generation of hydrocarbons by Lower Palaeozoic source rocks was initiated with the overthrusting of the Carpathians. This increases the chances of their accumulation in reservoir intervals sealed by an overthrusting orogen. This is a positive premise in the context of petroleum exploration in the area.

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