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↵1F.W., H.Z., and J.M. contributed equally to this work.
Edited by David M. Karl, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, and approved January 13, 2009 (received for review October 17, 2008)
Abstract
Deep-sea hydrothermal vents are one of the most unique and fascinating ecosystems on Earth. Although phylogenetic diversity of vent communities has been extensively examined, their physiological diversity is poorly understood. In this study, a GeoChip-based, high-throughput metagenomics technology revealed dramatic differences in microbial metabolic functions in a newly grown protochimney (inner section, Proto-I; outer section, Proto-O) and the outer section of a mature chimney (4143-1) at the Juan de Fuca Ridge. Very limited numbers of functional genes were detected in Proto-I (113 genes), whereas much higher numbers of genes were detected in Proto-O (504 genes) and 4143-1 (5,414 genes). Microbial functional genes/populations in Proto-O and Proto-I were substantially different (around 1% common genes), suggesting a rapid change in the microbial community composition during the growth of the chimney. Previously retrieved cbbL and cbbM genes involved in the Calvin Benson Bassham (CBB) cycle from deep-sea hydrothermal vents were predominant in Proto-O and 4143-1, whereas photosynthetic green-like cbbL genes were the major components in Proto-I. In addition, genes involved in methanogenesis, aerobic and anaerobic methane oxidation (e.g., ANME1 and ANME2), nitrification, denitrification, sulfate reduction, degradation of complex carbon substrates, and metal resistance were also detected. Clone libraries supported the GeoChip results but were less effective than the microarray in delineating microbial populations of low biomass. Overall, these results suggest that the hydrothermal microbial communities are metabolically and physiologically highly diverse, and the communities appear to be undergoing rapid dynamic succession and adaptation in response to the steep temperature and chemical gradients across the chimney.
Footnotes
- 3To whom correspondence may be addressed. E-mail: jzhou{at}ou.edu or xxwfp{at}public.xm.fj.cn
Author contributions: F.W., H.Z., J.Z., and X.X. designed research; F.W., H.Z., J.M., X.P., and J.D.V.N. performed research; H.Z., Y.D., Z.H., and J.Z. contributed new reagents/analytic tools; F.W., J.M., L.J., P.S., C.Z., J.D.V.N., L.W., J.Z., and X.X. analyzed data; and F.W., C.Z., J.Z., and X.X. wrote the paper.
↵2Present address: School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai 200240, People's Republic of China.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
This article is a PNAS Direct Submission.
GeoChip-based analysis of metabolic diversity of microbial communities at the Juan de Fuca Ridge hydrothermal vent
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