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Genomic markers of ancient anaerobic microbial pathways: sulfate reduction, methanogenesis, and methane oxidation
Andreas Teske1, Ashita Dhillon, Mitchell L Sogin
1Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, USA. teske@email.unc.edu
The Biological Bulletin
|April 18, 2003
Abstract:
Genomic markers for anaerobic microbial processes in marine sediments-sulfate reduction, methanogenesis, and anaerobic methane oxidation-reveal the structure of sulfate-reducing, methanogenic, and methane-oxidizing microbial communities (including uncultured members); they allow inferences about the evolution of these ancient microbial pathways; and they open genomic windows into extreme microbial habitats, such as deep subsurface sediments and hydrothermal vents, that are analogs for the early Earth and for extraterrestrial microbiota.