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Decoding microbial diversity, biogeochemical functions, and interaction potentials in red sea hydrothermal vents
Sharifah Altalhi1,2,3, Júnia Schultz1, Tahira Jamil1
1Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering Division (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
Environmental Microbiome
|September 30, 2025
Summary
Microbial communities in Red Sea hydrothermal vents are key to elemental cycling. Genome analysis reveals diverse metabolic functions, particularly in iron-rich environments, offering insights into extremophile adaptations.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Geochemistry
- Environmental Science
Background:
- Hydrothermal vents are vital for global elemental cycling, hosting diverse microbial life.
- The Red Sea's Hatiba Mons volcano features unique low-temperature hydrothermal vents with iron oxide mounds and microbial mats.
- Extreme conditions (low nutrients, high temperature, high salinity) make these vents ideal for studying prokaryotic functions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the microbial diversity and metabolic potential of Red Sea hydrothermal vent precipitates and microbial mats.
- To understand the roles of prokaryotes in elemental cycling within this unique oligotrophic environment.
Main Methods:
- Utilized 16S rRNA sequencing and shotgun metagenomics.
- Analyzed precipitates and microbial mats from five vent sites.
- Generated 314 non-redundant metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs).
Main Results:
- Recovered 314 bacterial and archaeal MAGs from 34 bacterial and 11 archaeal phyla.
- Identified diverse nutrient and metal cycling capabilities, with a focus on iron redox genes.
- Bathyarchaeia and Chloroflexi in precipitates and Pseudomonadota in mats showed significant roles in carbon, sulfur, nitrogen, and metal cycling, including carbon fixation via the CBB and Wood-Ljungdahl pathways.
Conclusions:
- Hatiba Mons vents represent an iron-rich system offering insights into oligotrophic hydrothermal environments.
- The study highlights novel metabolic pathways and extremophile adaptations relevant to element cycling.
- Findings have potential applications in biotechnology.
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