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Title: Complex subsurface hydrothermal fluid mixing at a submarine arc volcano supports distinct and highly diverse microbial communities

Journal Article · · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [1];  [1]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [3]; ORCiD logo [4]; ORCiD logo [5]; ORCiD logo [6]; ORCiD logo [7]; ORCiD logo [8]; ORCiD logo [8]; ORCiD logo [7]; ORCiD logo [8]; ORCiD logo [9]; ORCiD logo [10]; ORCiD logo [10]
  1. Portland State Univ., OR (United States)
  2. California State Univ. (CalState), Northridge, CA (United States)
  3. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
  4. Royal Netherlands Inst. for Sea Research, Den Burg (Netherlands)
  5. Royal Netherlands Inst. for Sea Research, Den Burg (Netherlands); Uppsala Univ. (Sweden)
  6. Univ. de Bretagne Occidentale, Plouzané (France)
  7. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA (United States)
  8. GNS Science, Avalon (New Zealand)
  9. GNS Science, Avalon (New Zealand); Toha Science, Wellington (New Zealand)
  10. Univ. of Bremen (Germany)

Hydrothermally active submarine volcanoes are mineral-rich biological oases contributing significantly to chemical fluxes in the deep sea, yet little is known about the microbial communities inhabiting these systems. Here we investigate the diversity of microbial life in hydrothermal deposits and their metagenomics-inferred physiology in light of the geological history and resulting hydrothermal fluid paths in the subsurface of Brothers submarine volcano north of New Zealand on the southern Kermadec arc. From metagenome-assembled genomes we identified over 90 putative bacterial and archaeal genomic families and nearly 300 previously unknown genera, many potentially endemic to this submarine volcanic environment. While magmatically influenced hydrothermal systems on the volcanic resurgent cones of Brothers volcano harbor communities of thermoacidophiles and diverse members of the superphylum “DPANN,” two distinct communities are associated with the caldera wall, likely shaped by two different types of hydrothermal circulation. The communities whose phylogenetic diversity primarily aligns with that of the cone sites and magmatically influenced hydrothermal systems elsewhere are characterized predominately by anaerobic metabolisms. These populations are probably maintained by fluids with greater magmatic inputs that have interacted with different (deeper) previously altered mineral assemblages. However, proximal (a few meters distant) communities with gene-inferred aerobic, microaerophilic, and anaerobic metabolisms are likely supported by shallower seawater-dominated circulation. Furthermore, mixing of fluids from these two distinct hydrothermal circulation systems may have an underlying imprint on the high microbial phylogenomic diversity. Collectively our results highlight the importance of considering geologic evolution and history of subsurface processes in studying microbial colonization and community dynamics in volcanic environments.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE; National Science Foundation (NSF); Swedish Research Council (SRC)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725; OCE‐1558356; OCE-1558795; 2016-03559
OSTI ID:
1755295
Journal Information:
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol. 117, Issue 51; ISSN 0027-8424
Publisher:
National Academy of SciencesCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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