Periodic and Spatial Spreading of Alkanes and Alcanivorax Bacteria in Deep Waters of the Mariana Trench.

ABSTRACT: In subduction zones, serpentinization and biological processes may release alkanes to the deep waters, which would probably result in the rapid spread of Alcanivorax However, the timing and area of the alkane distribution and associated enrichment of alkane-degrading microbes in the dark world of the deep ocean have not been explored. In this study, we report the richness (up to 17.8%) of alkane-degrading bacteria, represented by Alcanivorax jadensis, in deep water samples obtained at 3,000 to 6,000 m in the Mariana Trench in two cruises. The relative abundance of A. jadensis correlated with copy numbers of functional almA and alkB genes, which are involved in alkane degradation. In these water samples, we detected a high flux of alkanes, which probably r

SUBMITTER: Li WL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6344633 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature