Feast and famine — microbial life in the deep-sea bed (original) (raw)

References

1. Zobell, C. E. & Morita, R. Y. in Galathea Report Vol. 1 139–154 (Danish Science, Copenhagen, 1959).
   Google Scholar
2. Corliss, J. B. et al. Submarine thermal springs on the Galapagos Rift. Science 203, 1073–1083 (1979).
   Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar
3. Wenzhöfer, F. & Glud, R. N. Benthic carbon mineralization in the Atlantic: a synthesis based on in situ data from the last decade. Deep-Sea Res. I 49, 1255–1279 (2002).
   Article Google Scholar
4. Froelich, P. N. et al. Early oxidation of organic matter in pelagic sediments of the eastern equatorial Atlantic: suboxic diagenesis. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 43, 1075–1090 (1979).
   Article CAS Google Scholar
5. Jahnke, R. A. & Jackson, G. A. in Deep-Sea Food Chains and the Global Carbon Cycle (eds Rowe, G. T. & Pariente, V.) 295–308 (Kluwer Academic, Dordrecht, 1992).
   Book Google Scholar
6. Mayer, L. in Organic Geochemistry: Principles and Applications (eds Engel, M. H. & Macko, S.) 171–184 (Plenum, New York, 1993).
   Book Google Scholar
7. Hedges, J. I. & Keil, R. G. Sedimentary organic matter preservation: an assessment and speculative synthesis. Mar. Chem. 49, 81–115 (1995).
   Article CAS Google Scholar
8. Deming, J. W. & Baross J. A. in Organic Geochemistry (eds Engel, M. H. & Macko, S. A.) 119–144 (Plenum, New York, 1993).
   Book Google Scholar
9. Smith, C. R. et al. Latitudinal variations in benthic processes in the abyssal equatorial Pacific: control by biogenic particle flux. Deep-Sea Res. II 44, 2295–2317 (1997).
   Article CAS Google Scholar
10. Boetius, A. & Damm, E. Benthic oxygen uptake, hydrolytic potentials and microbial biomass at the Arctic continental slope. Deep-Sea Res. I 45, 239–275 (1998).
    Article Google Scholar
11. Deming, J. W. & Yager, P. L. in Deep-Sea Food Chains and the Global Carbon Cycle (eds Rowe, G. T. & Pariente, V.) 11–28 (Kluwer Academic, Dordrecht, 1992). Together with reference 12, this reference was important for the understanding of global patterns in microbial biomass and activity in deep-sea sediments.
    Book Google Scholar
12. Lochte, K. in Deep-Sea Food Chains and the Global Carbon Cycle (eds Rowe, G. T. & Pariente, V.) 1–10 (Kluwer Academic, Dordrecht, 1992).
    Book Google Scholar
13. Lochte, K. & Turley, C. M. Bacteria and cyanobacteria associated with phytodetritus in the deep-sea. Nature 333, 67–69 (1988).
    Article Google Scholar
14. Turley, C. M. & Lochte, K. Microbial response to the input of fresh detritus to the deep-sea bed. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 89, 3–23 (1990). This paper was one of the first to provide a quantification of the microbial turnover of phytodetritus at the seafloor and showed that deep-sea microorganisms can be as active as other microorganisms despite cold temperatures and high pressures.
    Article Google Scholar
15. Moodley, L. et al. Bacteria and Foraminifera: key players in a short-term deep-sea benthic response to phytodetritus. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser 236, 23–29 (2002).
    Article Google Scholar
16. Witte U. et al. In situ experimental evidence of the fate of a phytodetritus pulse at the abyssal seafloor. Nature 424, 763–766 (2003).
    Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar
17. Vetter, Y. A. & Deming, J. Extracellular enzyme activity in the Arctic Northeast Water polynya. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser 114, 23–34 (1994).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
18. Boetius, A. & Lochte, K. Regulation of microbial enzymatic degradation of OM in deep-sea sediments. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser 104, 299–307 (1994).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
19. Burdige, D. J. Preservation of organic matter in marine sediments: controls, mechanisms, and an imbalance in sediment organic carbon budgets. Chem. Rev. 107, 467–485 (2007).
    Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar
20. DeLong, E. F., Franks, D. G. & Yayanos A. A. Evolutionary relationships of cultivated psychrophilic and barophilic deep-sea bacteria. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 63, 2105–2108 (1997).
    CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar
21. Vetriani, C., Jannasch, H. W., MacGregor, B. J., Stahl, D. A. & Reysenbach, A. L. Population structure and phylogenetic characterization of marine benthic archaea in deep-sea sediments. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 65, 4375–4384 (1999).
    CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar
22. Inagaki, F. et al. Biogeographical distribution and diversity of microbes in methane hydrate-bearing deep marine sediments on the Pacific Ocean Margin. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 103, 2815–2820 (2006).
    Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar
23. Biddle, J. F. et al. Heterotrophic archaea dominate sedimentary subsurface ecosystems off Peru. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 103, 3846–3851 (2006).
    Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar
24. Middelboe, M., Glud, R. N., Wenzhöfer, F., Oguri, K., Kitazato, H. Spatial distribution and activity of viruses in the deep-sea sediments of Sagami Bay, Japan. Deep-Sea Res. I 53, 1–13 (2006).
    Article Google Scholar
25. Lonsdale, P. Clustering of suspension-feeding macrobenthos near abyssal hydrothermal vents at oceanic spreading centers. Deep-Sea Res. 24, 857–863 (1977).
    Article Google Scholar
26. Jones, M. L. Hydrothermal vents of the eastern Pacific: an overview. Bull. Biol. Soc. Wash. 6, 545 (1985).
    Google Scholar
27. Cavanaugh, C. M. Symbioses of chemoautotrophic bacteria and marine invertebrates from hydrothermal vents and reducing sediments. Bull. Biol. Soc. Wash. 6, 373–388 (1985).
    Google Scholar
28. Nelson, D. C., Wirsen, C. O. & Jannasch, H. W. Characterization of large autotrophic Beggiatoa abundant at hydrothermal vents of the Guaymas Basin. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 55, 2909–2917 (1989).
    CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar
29. Takai, K., Nakagawa, S., Reysenbach, A. L. & Hoek, J. in Back Arc Spreading Systems: Geological, Biological, Chemical and Physical Interactions (eds Christie, D. M. et al.) 185–214 (AGU Books, Washington DC, 2006). An important contribution to the documentation of the occurrence of uncultivated microorganisms at different hydrothermal vent systems.
    Book Google Scholar
30. Tivey, M. Generation of seafloor hydrothermal vent fluids and associated mineral deposits. Oceanography 20, 50–65 (2007).
    Article Google Scholar
31. Fisher, C. R., Takai, K. & Le Bris, N. Hydrothermal vent ecosystems. Oceanography 20, 14–23 (2007).
    Article Google Scholar
32. Edwards, K. J., Bach, W. & McCollom, T. M. Geomicrobiology in oceanography: microbe–mineral interactions at and below the seafloor. Trends Microbiol. 13, 449–456 (2006).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
33. Von Damm, K. L. et al. Chemistry of submarine hydrothermal solutions at 21°N, East Pacific Rise. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 49, 2197–2220 (1985).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
34. Charlou, J. L. et al. Geochemistry of high H2 and CH4 vent fluids issuing from ultramafic rocks at the Rainbow hydrothermal field (36°14'N, MAR). Chem. Geol. 191, 345–359 (2002).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
35. Nealson, K. H., Inagaki, F. & Takai, K. Hydrogen-driven subsurface lithoautotrophic microbial ecosystems (SLiMEs): do they exist and why should we care? Trends Microbiol. 13, 405–410 (2005).
    Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar
36. Kelley, D. S. et al. A serpentinite-hosted ecosystem: the lost city hydrothermal field. Science 307, 1428–1434 (2005).
    Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar
37. Moyer, C. L., Tiedge, J. M., Dobbs, F. C. & Karl, D. M. Diversity of deep-sea hydrothermal vent Archaea from Loihi Seamount, Hawaii. Deep-Sea Res. II 45, 303–317 (1998).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
38. Emerson, D. & Moyer. C. L. Neutrophilic Fe-oxidizing bacteria are abundant at the Loihi Seamount hydrothermal vents and play a major role in Fe oxide deposition. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 68, 3085–3093 (2002).
    Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar
39. Inagaki, F. et al. Microbial community in a sediment-hosted CO2 lake of the southern Okinawa Trough hydrothermal system. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 103, 14164–14169 (2006).
    Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar
40. Fisk, M. R., Giovannoni, S. J. & Thorseth, I. H. Alteration of oceanic volcanic glass: textural evidence of microbial activity. Science 281, 978–980 (1998).
    Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar
41. Furnes, H. & Staudigel, H. Biological mediation in ocean crust alteration: how deep is the deep biosphere? Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 166, 97–103 (1999).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
42. Thorseth, I. H. et al. Diversity of life in ocean floor basalt. Earth. Planet. Sci. Lett. 194, 31–37 (2001).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
43. Bach, W. & Edwards, K. J. Iron and sulfide oxidation within the basaltic ocean crust: implications for chemolithoautotrophic microbial biomass production. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 67, 3871–3887 (2003).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
44. Shock, E. L. & Holland M. E. Geochemical energy sources that support the subsurface biosphere. Geophysical Monograph 144, 469–525 (2004).
    Google Scholar
45. Blöchl, E. et al. Pyrolobus fumarii gen. and sp. nov., represents a novel group of archaea extending the upper temperature limit for life to 113°C. Extremophiles 1, 14–21 (1997).
    Article PubMed Google Scholar
46. Kashefi, K. & Lovely, D. R. Extending the upper temperature limit for life. Science 301, 934 (2003).
    Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar
47. Reysenbach, A. L. et al. A ubiquitous thermoacidophilic archaeon from deep-sea hydrothermal vents. Nature 442, 444–447 (2006). A perfect example of the successful cultivation of vent-endemic environmentally relevant archaea based on their distribution, the metagenome and the geochemistry of their habitat.
    Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar
48. Reysenbach, A. L., Longnecker, K. & Kirshtein, J. Novel bacterial and archaeal lineages from an in situ growth chamber deployed at a Mid-Atlantic ridge hydrothermal vent. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 66, 3798–3806 (2000).
    Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar
49. Reysenbach, A. L. & Shock, E. L. Merging genomes with geochemistry in hydrothermal ecosystems. Science 296, 1077–1082 (2002).
    Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar
50. Campbell, B., Engel, A. S., Porter, M. L. & Takai, K. The versatile ɛ-proteobacteria: key players in sulphidic habitats. Nature Rev. Microbiol. 4, 458–468 (2006).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
51. Bach, W. et al. Energy in the dark: fuel for life in the deep ocean and beyond. Eos (Washington DC) 87, 73–78 (2006).
    Google Scholar
52. Kennicutt, M. C. et al. Vent-type taxa in a hydrocarbon seep region on the Louisiana slope. Nature 317, 351–353 (1985).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
53. Suess, E. et al. Biological communities at vent sites along the subduction zone off Oregon. Bull. Biol. Soc. Wash. 6, 475–484 (1985).
    Google Scholar
54. Kulm, L. D. et al. Oregon subduction zone: venting, fauna, and carbonates. Science 231, 561–566 (1986).
    Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar
55. Tryon, M. D. et al. Measurements of transience and downward fluid flow near episodic methane gas vents, Hydrate Ridge, Cascadia. Geology 27, 1075–1078 (1999).
    Article Google Scholar
56. Boetius, A. & Suess, E. Hydrate Ridge: a natural laboratory for the study of microbial life fueled by methane from near-surface gas hydrates. Chem. Geol. 205, 291–310 (2004).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
57. Niemann, H. et al. Novel microbial communities of the Haakon Mosby mud volcano and their role as a methane sink. Nature 443, 854–858 (2006). This paper combines geochemistry and molecular ecology in situ to provide a quantitative understanding of the environmental factors that control the microbial methane filter.
    Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar
58. Orphan, V. J., Haffenbradl, D., Taylor, L. T. & Delong, E. F. Culture-dependent and culture-independent characterization of microbial assemblages associated with high temperature petroleum reservoirs. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 66, 700–711 (2000).
    Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar
59. Widdel, F., Musat, F., Knittel, K. & Galushko, A. in Sulphate-Reducing Bacteria: Environmental and Engineered Systems. (eds Barton, L. L. & Hamilton, W. A.) 265–304 (Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, 2007).
    Book Google Scholar
60. Orphan, V. J., House, C. H., Hinrichs, K. U., McKeegan, K. D. & Delong, E. F. Multiple archaeal groups mediate methane oxidation in anoxic cold seep sediments. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 99, 7663–7668 (2002).
    Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar
61. Teske, A. et al. Microbial diversity of hydrothermal sediments in the Guaymas Basin: evidence for anaerobic methanotrophic communities. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 68, 1994–2007 (2002).
    Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar
62. Knittel, K. et al. Activity, distribution, and diversity of sulfate reducers and other bacteria in sediments above gas hydrate (Cascadia Margin, Oregon). Geomicrobiol. J. 20, 269–294 (2003).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
63. Knittel, K., Lösekann, T., Boetius, A., Kort, R. & Amann, R. Diversity and distribution of methanotrophic archaea at cold seeps. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 71, 467–479 (2005).
    Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar
64. Hinrichs, K. U. & Boetius, A. in Ocean Margin Systems (eds Wefer, G. et al.) 457–477 (Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 2002).
    Book Google Scholar
65. Reeburgh, W. Oceanic methane biogeochemistry. Chem. Oceanogr. 107, 486–513 (2007).
    CAS Google Scholar
66. Hinrichs, K. U., Hayes, J. M., Sylva, S. P., Brewer, P. G. & DeLong, E. F. Methane-consuming archaebacteria in marine sediments. Nature 398, 802–805 (1999). A classical example of how cultivation-independent molecular methods such as lipid biomarkers and 16S rDNA analyses can help to identify unknown microorganisms and their metabolisms. Also, this paper was the first to provide clues to the identity of anaerobic methanotrophs at seeps.
    Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar
67. Boetius, A. et al. A marine microbial consortium apparently mediating anaerobic oxidation of methane. Nature 407, 623–626 (2000).
    Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar
68. Michaelis, W. et al. Microbial reefs in the Black Sea fueled by anaerobic oxidation of methane. Science 297, 1013–1015 (2002).
    Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar
69. Valentine, D. L. & Reeburgh, W. S. New perspectives on anaerobic methane oxidation. Environ. Microbiol. 2, 477–484 (2000).
    Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar
70. Ritger, S., Carson, B. & Suess, E. Methane-derived authigenic carbonates formed by subduction-induced pore-water expulsion along the Oregon/Washington margin. Geol. Soc. Am Bull. 98, 147–156 (1987).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
71. Levin, L. Ecology of cold seep ecosystems: interactions of fauna with flow, chemistry and microbes. Oceanogr. Mar. Biol. Annu. Rev. 43, 1–46 (2005).
    Google Scholar
72. MacDonald, I. R. et al. Gulf of Mexico chemosynthetic communities: II. Spatial distribution of seep organisms and hydrocarbons at Bush Hill. Mar. Biol. 101, 235–247 (1989).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
73. Fisher, C. R. Chemoautotrophic and methanotrophic symbioses in marine invertebrates. Rev. Aquat. Sci. 2, 399–436 (1990).
    CAS Google Scholar
74. Sibuet, M. & Olu, K. Biogeography, biodiversity and fluid dependence of deep-sea cold-seep communities at active and passive margins. Deep-Sea Res. II 45, 517–567 (1998).
    Article Google Scholar
75. Sahling, H., Rickert, D., Lee, R. W., Linke, P. & Suess, E. Macrofaunal community structure and sulfide flux at gas hydrate deposits from the Cascadia convergent margin, NE Pacific. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser 231, 121–138 (2002).
    Article Google Scholar
76. Joye, S. B. et al. The anaerobic oxidation of methane and sulfate reduction in sediments from Gulf of Mexico cold seeps. Chem. Geol. 205, 219–238 (2004).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
77. MacDonald, I. R. et al. Asphalt volcanism and chemosynthetic life in the Campeche Knolls, Gulf of Mexico. Science 304, 999–102 (2004).
    Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar
78. Treude, T. et al. Consumption of methane and CO2 by methanotrophic microbial mats from gas seeps of the anoxic Black Sea. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 73, 2271–2283 (2007).
    Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar
79. Hovland, M. & Judd, A. G. Seabed Pockmarks and Seepages (Graham and Trotman, London, 1988).
    Google Scholar
80. Dupré, S. et al. Seafloor geological studies above active gas chimneys off Egypt (Central Nile Deep Sea Fan). Deep-Sea Res. I 54, 1146–1172 (2007).
    Article Google Scholar
81. de Beer, D., Sauter, E., Niemann, H., Witte, U. & Boetius, A. In situ fluxes and zonation of microbial activity in surface sediments of the Håkon Mosby Mud Volcano. Limnol. Oceanogr. 51, 1315–1331 (2006).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
82. Treude, T., Boetius, A., Knittel, K., Wallmann, K. & Jørgensen, B. B. Anaerobic oxidation of methane above gas hydrates at Hydrate Ridge, NE Pacific. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser 264, 1–14 (2003).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
83. Kalanetra, K. M., Joye, S. B., Sunseri, N. R. & Nelson, D. C. Novel vacuolate sulfur bacteria from the Gulf of Mexico reproduce by reductive division in three dimensions. Environ. Microbiol. 7, 1451–1460 (2005).
    Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar
84. Preisler, A. et al. Biological and chemical sulfide oxidation in a Beggiatoa inhabited sediment. ISME J. 1, 341–353 (2007).
    Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar
85. Dickens, G. Rethinking the global carbon cycle with a large, dynamic and microbially mediated gas hydrate capacitor. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 213, 169–183 (2003).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
86. Oremland, R. S., Culbertson, C. & Simoneit, B. R. T. in Init. Repts. DSDP (eds Curray, J. R. et al.) 759–762 (United States Government Printing Office, Washington, 1982).
    Google Scholar
87. Cragg, B. A. et al. in Proc. Ocean Drilling Program Sci. (eds Suess, E. & von Huene, R.) Vol. 112, 607–619 (A&M University, Texas, 1990).
    Google Scholar
88. Parkes, R. J., Cragg, B. A. & Wellsbury, P. Recent studies on bacterial populations and processes in marine sediments: a review. Hydrogeol. J. 8, 11–28 (2000).
    Article Google Scholar
89. Smith, D. C., Spivack, A. J., Fisk, M. R., Haveman, S. A. & Staudigel, H. Tracer-based estimates of drilling-induced microbial contamination of deep sea crust. Geomicrobiol. J. 17, 207–219 (2000).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
90. House, C. H., Cragg, B. A. & Teske, A. in Proc. Ocean Drilling Program, Init. Repts. (eds D'Hondt, S. L. et al.) Vol. 201, 1–19 (A&M University, Texas, 2003).
    Google Scholar
91. Whitman, W. B., Coleman, D. C. & Wiebe, W. J. Prokaryotes: the unseen majority. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 95, 6578–6583 (1998). A key paper on the global abundance and biomass of prokaryotic cells, which showed their predominance in the deep biosphere.
    Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar
92. D' Hondt, S. L. et al. Metabolic activity of subsurface life in deep-sea sediments. Science 295, 2067–2070 (2002).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
93. D' Hondt, S. L. et al. (eds) in Proc. Ocean Drilling Program, Init. Repts. Vol. 201, 1–86 (Texas A&M University, Texas, 2003).
    Book Google Scholar
94. D' Hondt, S. et al. Distributions of microbial activities in deep subseafloor sediments. Science 306, 2216–2221 (2004). An important overview of the data on microbial diversity and metabolic rates in a range of sediments from the continental shelf to the deep sea.
    Article CAS Google Scholar
95. Wilhelms, A. et al. Biodegradation of oil in uplifted basins prevented by deep-burial sterilization. Nature 411, 1034–1037 (2001).
    Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar
96. Wellsbury, P. et al. Deep bacterial biosphere fuelled by increasing organic matter availability during burial and heating. Nature 388, 573–576 (1997).
    Article CAS Google Scholar
97. Bale, S. J. et al. Desulfovibrio profundus sp. nov., a novel barophilic sulphate-reducing bacteria from deep sediment layers in the Japan Sea. Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 47, 515–521 (1997).
    Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar
98. Mikucki, J. A., Liu, Y., Delwiche, M., Colwell, F. S. & Boone, D. R. Isolation of a methanogen from deep marine sediments that contain methane hydrates, and description of Methanoculleus submarinus sp. nov. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 69, 3311–3316 (2003).
    Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar
99. Süss, J. et al. Widespread distribution and high abundance of Rhizobium radiobacter within Mediterranean subsurface sediments. Environ. Microbiol. 8, 1753–1763 (2006).
    Article PubMed Google Scholar
100. Teske, A. Microbial communities of deep marine subsurface sediments: molecular and cultivation surveys. Geomicrobiol. J. 23, 357–368 (2006).
     Article CAS Google Scholar
101. Parkes, R. J. et al. Deep subsurface prokaryotes stimulated at interfaces over geologic time. Nature 436, 390–394 (2005).
     Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar
102. Schippers, A. & Neretin, L. N. Quantification of microbial communities in near-surface and deeply buried marine sediments on the Peru continental margin using real-time PCR. Environ. Microbiol. 8, 1251–1260 (2006).
     Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar
103. Coolen, M. J. L. & Overmann, J. Analysis of subfossil molecular remains of purple sulfur bacteria in a lake sediment. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 64, 4513–4521 (1998).
     CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar
104. D'Hondt, S. et al. (eds) in Workshop Report of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (A&M University, Texas, in the press).
105. Sturt, H. F., Summons, R. E., Smith, K., Elvert, M. & Hinrichs, K. U. Intact polar membrane lipids in prokaryotes and sediments deciphered by high-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization multistage mass spectrometry — new biomarkers for biogeochemistry and microbial ecology. Rapid Commun. Mass Spectrom. 18, 617–628 (2004).
     Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar
106. Pernthaler, A., Pernthaler, J. & Amann, R. Fluorescence in situ hybridization and catalyzed reporter deposition for the identification of marine bacteria. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 68, 3094–3101 (2002).
     Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar
107. Schippers, A. et al. Prokaryotic cells of the deep subsurface biosphere identified as living bacteria. Nature 433, 861–864 (2005).
     Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar
108. Coolen, M. J. L., Cypionka, H., Sass, A. M., Sass, H. & Overmann, J. Ongoing modification of Mediterranean Pleistocene sapropels mediated by prokaryotes. Science 296, 2407–2410 (2002).
     Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar
109. Arndt, S., Brumsack, H. J. & Wirtz, K. W. Cretaceous black shales as active bioreactors: a biogeochemical model for the deep biosphere encountered during ODP Leg 207 (Demerara Rise). Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 70, 408–425 (2006).
     Article CAS Google Scholar
110. Jørgensen, B. B., D'Hondt, S. L. & Miller, D. J. in Proc. Ocean Drilling Program, Init. Repts. (eds Jørgensen, B. B., D'Hondt, S. L. & Miller, D. J. ) Vol. 201, 1–45 (Texas A&M University, Texas, 2006).
     Google Scholar
111. Schulte, M., Blake, D., Hoehler, T. & McCollom, T. Serpentinization and its implications for life on the early Earth and Mars. Astrobiology 2, 364–376 (2006).
     Article Google Scholar
112. Jørgensen, B. B. & D'Hondt, S. A starving majority deep beneath the seafloor. Science 314, 932–934 (2006).
     Article PubMed Google Scholar
113. Lin, L. H., Slater, G. F., Lollar, B. S., Lacrampe-Couloume, G. & Onstott, T. C. The yield and isotopic composition of radiolytic H2, a potential energy source for the deep subsurface biosphere. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 69, 893–903 (2005).
     Article CAS Google Scholar
114. Blair, C., D'Hondt, S., Spivack, A. J. & Kingsley, R. H. Radiolytic hydrogen and microbial respiration in a deep sea sediment column. Astrobiology 6, 198 (2006).
     Google Scholar
115. Hinrichs, K. U. et al. Biological formation of ethane and propane in the deep marine subsurface. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 103, 14684–14689 (2006).
     Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar
116. Price, P. B. & Sowers, T. Temperature dependence of metabolic rates for microbial growth, maintenance, and survival. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 101, 4631–4636 (2004).
     Article CAS PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar
117. Johnson, K. S., Childress, J. J. & Beelher, C. L. Short time temperature variability in the Rose Garden hydrothermal vent field: an unstable deep-sea environment. Deep-Sea Res. A 35, 1711–1721 (1988).
     Article Google Scholar
118. Luther, G. W. et al. Chemical speciation drives hydrothermal vent ecology. Nature 410, 813–816 (2001).
     Article CAS PubMed Google Scholar
119. Le Bris, N., Zbinden, M. & Gaill, F. Processes controlling the physico-chemical micro-environments associated with Pompeii worms. Deep-Sea Res. I 52, 1071–1083 (2005).
     Article CAS Google Scholar

Download references