Evaluating Serpentinization as a Source of Phosphite to Microbial Communities in Hydrothermal Vents.

ABSTRACT: Previous studies have documented the presence of phosphite, a reduced and highly soluble form of phosphorus, in serpentinites, which has led to the hypothesis that serpentinizing hydrothermal vents could have been an important source of bioavailable phosphorus for early microbial communities in the Archean. Here, we test this hypothesis by evaluating the genomic hallmarks of phosphorus usage in microbial communities living in modern hydrothermal vents with and without influence from serpentinization. These genomic analyses are combined with results from a geochemical model that calculates phosphorus speciation during serpentinization as a function of temperature, water:rock ratio, and lithology at thermodynamic equilibrium. We find little to no genomic evidence of phosphite use in serpenti

SUBMITTER: Boden JS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11933879 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar-Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature