Zonation of Microbial Communities by a Hydrothermal Mound in the Atlantis II Deep (the Red Sea)

PLoS One. 2015 Oct 20;10(10):e0140766. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0140766. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

In deep-sea geothermal rift zones, the dispersal of hydrothermal fluids of moderately-high temperatures typically forms subseafloor mounds. Major mineral components of the crust covering the mound are barite and metal sulfides. As a result of the continental rifting along the Red Sea, metalliferous sediments accumulate on the seafloor of the Atlantis II Deep. In the present study, a barite crust was identified in a sediment core from the Atlantis II Deep, indicating the formation of a hydrothermal mound at the sampling site. Here, we examined how such a dense barite crust could affect the local environment and the distribution of microbial inhabitants. Our results demonstrate distinctive features of mineral components and microbial communities in the sediment layers separated by the barite crust. Within the mound, archaea accounted for 65% of the community. In contrast, the sediments above the barite boundary were overwhelmed by bacteria. The composition of microbial communities under the mound was similar to that in the sediments of the nearby Discovery Deep and marine cold seeps. This work reveals the zonation of microbial communities after the formation of the hydrothermal mound in the subsurface sediments of the rift basin.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Archaea / isolation & purification*
  • Bacteria / isolation & purification*
  • Biodiversity
  • Ecosystem
  • Geologic Sediments / microbiology*
  • Indian Ocean
  • Seawater / microbiology*

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDB06010102, XDB06010103 and XDB06010201) and an award from the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (SA-C0040/UK-C0016). This work was also supported the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41476104 and 31460001). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.