微生物による炭素と硫黄の循環が,深層に埋もれたの側面の玄武岩に存在する証拠です
Mark A Lever1, Olivier Rouxel, Jeffrey C Alt
1Department of Marine Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA. mark.lever@biology.au.dk
まとめ
中洋の山脊の地下ベースルトの微生物コミュニティは,メタンと硫黄を循環させます. これらの発見は,これらの地球深層の生態系の代謝機能を明らかにします.
科学分野:
- 地質科学は地質科学である.
- 微生物学 微生物学とは
- バイオジオケミストリー バイオジオケミストリー
背景:
- 主に堆積物で覆われた玄武岩からなる海洋の地殻は,ほとんど未知の微生物の生態系を宿している.
- これらの亜床微生物の組成と代謝機能を理解することは,地球深層のプロセスを理解するために不可欠です.
研究 の 目的:
- 3.500万年前の地下ベースルトの微生物の生命と代謝機能を調査する.
- これらの微生物によって媒介される重要な生地化学的サイクルを特定する.
主な方法:
- ジュアン・デ・フカ山脈の地下ベースルト構造に掘削する.
- メタンと硫黄の循環に関連した機能的な遺伝子の深度地平線を分析する.
- 生物学的インプリントを検出するためにイソトープ値 (δ(13) Cおよびδ(34) S) を測定します.
- 微生物の活性を評価するために,実験室での化を行う.
主要な成果:
- 地下層の玄武岩にメタンと硫黄を循環する微生物の存在が実証されました.
- 硫黄,有機炭素で濃縮され,生物学的同位体シグネチャーを示す特定の深さの地平線を特定しました.
- 実験室インキュベーションを通じて微生物の活性の明確な証拠が観察されました.
- 炭素と硫黄のサイクルにおけるダウンコアの変動を特徴とし,化学自律的および異質的代謝を示している.
結論:
- 海底の玄武岩は,メタンと硫黄の循環に関与する活発な微生物の生態系を備えています.
- 地化学および同位体データは,炭素と硫黄の変換に対する生物学的影響を確認しています.
- 明確な地質化学的間隔は,地下環境における異なる代謝経路の相互作用を強調しています.
関連する概念動画
Microbes and the Sulfur Cycle
Sulfur is a vital element in Earth's biogeochemical systems. It transitions through various inorganic states, including sulfate (SO₄²⁻), elemental sulfur (S⁰), and sulfide (S²⁻). Abiotic and biological mechanisms across oxic and anoxic environments intricately mediate these transformations. Sulfate, the most oxidized form of sulfur, is predominantly stored in rocks, marine sediments, and oceanic waters, acting as a long-term reservoir in the global sulfur cycle.In oxic environments,...
Deep Sea Microbial Ecology
The deep ocean and its underlying sediments represent vast, largely unexplored microbial habitats that extend far beyond the sunlit photic zone. The photic (euphotic) zone typically spans the upper ~100–200 meters of pelagic waters in the open ocean, but its depth varies geographically and seasonally, where sufficient light supports photosynthetic life. Below this lies the deep sea, spanning roughly 1000–6000 meters (bathypelagic to abyssal zones), with deeper hadal trenches extending beyond...
Microbial Mats
Microbial communities forming biofilms and mats represent complex, spatially structured ecosystems where metabolic processes are stratified according to light, oxygen, and nutrient gradients. Biofilms are initial colonization stages, only a few millimeters thick, while mature microbial mats can reach centimeter-scale thickness and display intricate vertical organization. Their structural and functional heterogeneity allows microorganisms to occupy distinct ecological niches within a few...
Sulfur Assimilation
Sulfur is an essential element in biological systems, contributing to synthesizing key biomolecules, including amino acids such as cysteine and methionine, and cofactors such as coenzyme A and biotin. Microorganisms primarily assimilate sulfur as sulfate (SO₄²⁻) from the environment, which must undergo a series of biochemical transformations before it can be incorporated into cellular components. As sulfate is highly oxidized, it must undergo assimilatory sulfate reduction to become...
Microbes and Methanogenesis
Methanogenesis is a critical microbial process in anaerobic ecosystems responsible for the biological production of methane, a potent greenhouse gas and valuable biofuel. This metabolic pathway is primarily facilitated by methanogenic archaea, which thrive in anoxic environments such as wetlands, sediments, and animal gastrointestinal tracts. The absence of oxygen in these habitats prevents aerobic respiration, thereby favoring alternative biochemical pathways for organic matter degradation.In...
The Sulfur Cycle
Sulfur, an important element in the chemical makeup of proteins, is recycled through the atmosphere and aquatic and terrestrial environments. Found in the atmosphere as sulfur dioxide (SO2), sulfur is released by decaying organisms, weathered rocks, geothermal vents, volcanos, and burning fossil fuels. It is deposited into the ecosystem, cycled through the biotic community, and either released back into the atmosphere as gas or deposited in marine sediment for long-term storage and eventual...


