Dissolved inorganic carbon supports robust anabolism and methanogenesis in actively serpentinizing rocks.

ABSTRACT: Serpentinites, hydrated ultramafic rocks that produce [hyper]alkaline, reducing, H2-rich groundwaters, host subsurface microbial ecosystems. Though in the presence of enormous reducing power, life in serpentinizing systems is limited by oxidant and carbon availability. The forms of carbon that support the serpentinite-hosted microbiome, and their rates of biological assimilation, remain poorly understood. In this work, we quantify the habitability of subsurface environments shaped by serpentinization and examine the forms of carbon that support their microbial constituents, focusing specifically on dissolved inorganic carbon, acetate, and formate. We access reacted groundwater from Earth's largest terrestrial serpentinizing body and measure carbon assimilation at the single-cell level. Acr

SUBMITTER: Caro TA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12407943 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature