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Marine microbiology

Drilling deeper

Nature Reviews Microbiology volume 11, pages 508–509 (2013)Cite this article

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The authors used an optimized mRNA extraction and amplification technique to study anaerobic sediments from the Peru Margin, covering depths of 5–159 m below the sea floor. Illumina sequencing of the cDNA identified more than 1 billion reads corresponding to mRNAs from all three domains of life. Bacterial transcripts were the most abundant, with firmicutes, actinobacteria, alphaproteobacteria and gammaproteobacteria as the dominant sources, whereas fungal and archaeal transcripts were rarer. Transcripts for genes involved in the anaerobic metabolism of amino acids, lipids and carbohydrates were present at all depths and originated from all three domains, indicating that these are the dominant metabolic activities. In addition, dissimilatory sulphite reductases were detected, supporting the notion that sulphate metabolism is a key form of microbial metabolism in the deep biosphere. Surprisingly, despite there being no measurable nitrate in this anoxic environment, dissimilatory nitrate reductases were also present, suggesting that nitrate reduction also occurs.

revealing diverse metabolic activities from all three domains of life.

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References

  1. Orsi, W. D. et al. Gene expression in the deep biosphere. Nature http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature12230 (2013)

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  1. Ursula Hofer
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Hoehler, T. M. & Jørgensen, B. B. Microbial life under extreme energy limitation. Nature Rev. Microbiol. 11, 83–94 (2013)

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Hofer, U. Drilling deeper. Nat Rev Microbiol 11, 508–509 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrmicro3071

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