Deep Isolated Aquifer Brines Harbor Atypical Halophilic Microbial Communities in Quebec, Canada.

ABSTRACT: The deep terrestrial subsurface, hundreds of meters to kilometers below the surface, is characterized by oligotrophic conditions, dark and often anoxic settings, with fluctuating pH, salinity, and water availability. Despite this, microbial populations are detected and active, contributing to biogeochemical cycles over geological time. Because it is extremely difficult to access the deep biosphere, little is known about the identity and metabolisms of these communities, although they likely possess unknown pathways and might interfere with deep waste deposits. Therefore, we analyzed rock and groundwater microbial communities from deep, isolated brine aquifers in two regions dating back to the Ordovician and Devonian, using amplicon and whole genome sequencing. We observed significant diffe

SUBMITTER: Gagnon JC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10454208 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature