Journal Article

Biogeography and ecology of the rare and abundant microbial lineages in deep-sea hydrothermal vents

Anderson, Rika E., Baross, John A., Sogin, Mitchell L.

2015

Overview

Environmental gradients generate countless ecological niches in deep-sea hydrothermal vent systems, which foster diverse microbial communities. The majority of distinct microbial lineages in these communities occur in very low abundance. However, the ecological role and distribution of rare and abundant lineages, particularly in deep, hot subsurface environments, remain unclear. Here, we use 16S rRNA tag sequencing to describe biogeographic patterning and microbial community structure of both rare and abundant archaea and bacteria in hydrothermal vent systems. We show that while rare archaeal lineages and almost all bacterial lineages displayed geographically restricted community structuring patterns, the abundant lineages of archaeal communities displayed a much more cosmopolitan distribution. Finally, analysis of one high-volume, high-temperature fluid sample representative of the deep hot biosphere described a unique microbial community that differed from microbial populations in diffuse flow fluid or sulfide samples, yet the rare thermophilic archaeal groups showed similarities to those that occur in sulfides. These results suggest that while most archaeal and bacterial lineages in vents are rare and display a highly regional distribution, a small percentage of lineages, particularly within the archaeal domain, are successful at widespread dispersal and colonization. Rare and abundant strains of archaea and bacteria display different biogeographic patterns in hydrothermal vent systems.

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Subject: Analysis / Archaea / Archaea - genetics / Bacteria / Bacteria - genetics / Base Sequence / Biodiversity / Biogeography / Biosphere / Colonization / Communities / Community structure / Deep sea / Deep sea environments / Dispersal / Ecological niches / Ecology / Ecosystem / Environmental gradient / Fluid flow / High temperature / High temperature fluids / Hot Temperature / Hydrothermal plumes / Hydrothermal vent ecology / Hydrothermal vents / Hydrothermal Vents - microbiology / Identification and classification / Microbial activity / Microbial Consortia - genetics / Microbiology / Microorganisms / Niche (Ecology) / Niches / Pattern formation / Phylogeny / RNA sequencing / RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - genetics / rRNA 16S / Seawater - microbiology / Sequence Analysis, DNA / Sulfides / Thermophilic bacteria / Vents