Archaea in organic-lean and organic-rich marine subsurface sediments: an environmental gradient reflected in distinct phylogenetic lineages
Examining the patterns of archaeal diversity in little-explored organic-lean marine subsurface sediments presents an opportunity to study the association of phylogenetic affiliation and habitat preference in uncultured marine Archaea. Archaeal 16S rRNA clone library datasets across a spectrum of sed...
| Published in: | Frontiers in Microbiology |
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| Main Authors: | , |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2012-05-01
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fmicb.2012.00168/full |
| Summary: | Examining the patterns of archaeal diversity in little-explored organic-lean marine subsurface sediments presents an opportunity to study the association of phylogenetic affiliation and habitat preference in uncultured marine Archaea. Archaeal 16S rRNA clone library datasets across a spectrum of sediment trophic states characterized by a wide range of terminal electron-accepting processes reveals that organic-lean marine sediments in deep marine basins and oligotrophic open ocean locations are inhabited by distinct lineages of archaea that are not found in the more frequently studied, organic-rich continental margin sediments. We hypothesize that different combinations of electron donor and acceptor concentrations along the organic-rich/organic-lean spectrum result in distinct archaeal communities, and propose an integrated classification of habitat characteristics and archaeal community structure. |
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| ISSN: | 1664-302X |