Metabolic and population profiles of active subseafloor autotrophs in young oceanic crust at deep-sea hydrothermal vents.

ABSTRACT: At deep-sea hydrothermal vents, magmatically driven rock-water reactions in the crust generate gases and other reduced compounds that subseafloor microorganisms use for chemolithoautotrophy. In this study, microbial autotrophs from three diffuse flow hydrothermal vents at Axial Seamount in 2013 and 2014 were isotopically labeled using RNA stable isotope probing, targeting subseafloor autotrophic mesophiles (30°C), thermophiles (55°C), and hyperthermophiles (80°C). We constructed taxonomic and functional profiles of active chemolithoautotrophs, examined population distributions across sites, and linked primary producers to their specific metabolic strategies within the subseafloor community. Dominant autotrophs exhibited hydrogen-dependent dissimilatory metabolisms, such as sulfur and nitra

SUBMITTER: Elkassas SM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12628806 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature