Microbial colonization and persistence in deep fractured shales is guided by metabolic exchanges and viral predation.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Microbial colonization of subsurface shales following hydraulic fracturing offers the opportunity to study coupled biotic and abiotic factors that impact microbial persistence in engineered deep subsurface ecosystems. Shale formations underly much of the continental USA and display geographically distinct gradients in temperature and salinity. Complementing studies performed in eastern USA shales that contain brine-like fluids, here we coupled metagenomic and metabolomic approaches to develop the first genome-level insights into ecosystem colonization and microbial community interactions in a lower-salinity, but high-temperature western USA shale formation.

Results

We collected materials used during the hydraulic fracturing process (i.e., chemicals, drill muds) pa

SUBMITTER: Amundson KK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8762873 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature