Expansive microbial metabolic versatility and biodiversity in dynamic Guaymas Basin hydrothermal sediments.

ABSTRACT: Microbes in Guaymas Basin (Gulf of California) hydrothermal sediments thrive on hydrocarbons and sulfur and experience steep, fluctuating temperature and chemical gradients. The functional capacities of communities inhabiting this dynamic habitat are largely unknown. Here, we reconstructed 551 genomes from hydrothermally influenced, and nearby cold sediments belonging to 56 phyla (40 uncultured). These genomes comprise 22 unique lineages, including five new candidate phyla. In contrast to findings from cold hydrocarbon seeps, hydrothermal-associated communities are more diverse and archaea dominate over bacteria. Genome-based metabolic inferences provide first insights into the ecological niches of these uncultured microbes, including methane cycling in new Crenarchaeota and alkane utiliza

SUBMITTER: Dombrowski N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6258724 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature