Characterization of Metabolically Active Bacterial Populations in Subseafloor Nankai Trough Sediments above, within, and below the Sulfate-Methane Transition Zone.

ABSTRACT: A remarkable number of microbial cells have been enumerated within subseafloor sediments, suggesting a biological impact on geochemical processes in the subseafloor habitat. However, the metabolically active fraction of these populations is largely uncharacterized. In this study, an RNA-based molecular approach was used to determine the diversity and community structure of metabolically active bacterial populations in the upper sedimentary formation of the Nankai Trough seismogenic zone. Samples used in this study were collected from the slope apron sediment overlying the accretionary prism at Site C0004 during the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 316. The sediments represented microbial habitats above, within, and below the sulfate-methane transition zone (SMTZ), which was obs

SUBMITTER: Mills HJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3317506 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature