Prokaryotic biodiversity and activity in the deep subseafloor biosphere

Fry, John Christopher, Parkes, Ronald John, Cragg, Barry Andrew, Weightman, Andrew John ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6671-2209 and Webster, Gordon ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9530-7835 2008. Prokaryotic biodiversity and activity in the deep subseafloor biosphere. FEMS Microbiology Ecology 66 (2) , pp. 181-196. 10.1111/j.1574-6941.2008.00566.x

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Abstract

The deep subseafloor biosphere supports a diverse population of prokaryotes belonging to the Bacteria and Archaea. Most of the taxonomic groups identified by molecular methods contain mainly uncultured phylotypes. Despite this several cultured strains have been isolated from this habitat, but they probably do not represent the majority of the population. Evidence is starting to suggest that some of the activities measured, such as sulphate reduction and methanogenesis, reflected in geochemical profiles, are carried out by a small subset of the community detected by molecular methods. It is further possible that heterotrophy may be the most important mode of metabolism in subsurface sediments and heterotrophic microorganisms could dominate the uncultured prokaryotic population. Although, heterotrophy is limited by the increasing recalcitrance of organic matter with depth, this may be counteracted by thermal activation of buried organic matter providing additional substrates at depth.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Biosciences Earth and Environmental Sciences
Subjects:	Q Science > QR Microbiology
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Prokaryotes ; Activity ; Biodiversity ; Community composition ; Deep biosphere ; Marine subsurface sediments.
Publisher:	Wiley-Blackwell
ISSN:	0168-6496
Last Modified:	15 Nov 2024 22:32
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/8641

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