Zonation of Microbial Communities by a Hydrothermal Mound in the Atlantis II Deep (the Red Sea).

ABSTRACT: In deep-sea geothermal rift zones, the dispersal of hydrothermal fluids of moderately-high temperatures typically forms subseafloor mounds. Major mineral components of the crust covering the mound are barite and metal sulfides. As a result of the continental rifting along the Red Sea, metalliferous sediments accumulate on the seafloor of the Atlantis II Deep. In the present study, a barite crust was identified in a sediment core from the Atlantis II Deep, indicating the formation of a hydrothermal mound at the sampling site. Here, we examined how such a dense barite crust could affect the local environment and the distribution of microbial inhabitants. Our results demonstrate distinctive features of mineral components and microbial communities in the sediment layers separated by the barite

SUBMITTER: Wang Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4613831 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature