Journal
ISME JOURNAL
Volume 5, Issue 11, Pages 1748-1758Publisher
NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP
DOI: 10.1038/ismej.2011.48
Keywords
geomicrobiology; deep biosphere; hydrothermal; iron bacteria; iron oxidation
Categories
Funding
- NSF
- Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
- College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences at the University of Southern California
- NASA Astrobiology Institute
- Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Materials Science of the United States Department of Energy [DE-AC02-05CH11231]
- Office Of The Director
- EPSCoR [814251] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
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A novel hydrothermal field has been discovered at the base of Loihi Seamount, Hawaii, at 5000 mbsl. Geochemical analyses demonstrate that 'FeMO Deep', while only 0.2 degrees C above ambient seawater temperature, derives from a distal, ultra-diffuse hydrothermal source. FeMO Deep is expressed as regional seafloor seepage of gelatinous iron-and silica-rich deposits, pooling between and over basalt pillows, in places over a meter thick. The system is capped by mm to cm thick hydrothermally derived iron-oxyhydroxide-and manganese-oxide-layered crusts. We use molecular analyses (16S rDNA-based) of extant communities combined with fluorescent in situ hybridizations to demonstrate that FeMO Deep deposits contain living iron-oxidizing Zetaproteobacteria related to the recently isolated strain Mariprofundus ferroxydans. Bioenergetic calculations, based on in-situ electrochemical measurements and cell counts, indicate that reactions between iron and oxygen are important in supporting chemosynthesis in the mats, which we infer forms a trophic base of the mat ecosystem. We suggest that the biogenic FeMO Deep hydrothermal deposit represents a modern analog for one class of geological iron deposits known as ` umbers' (for example, Troodos ophilolites, Cyprus) because of striking similarities in size, setting and internal structures. The ISME Journal (2011) 5, 1748-1758; doi: 10.1038/ismej.2011.48; published online 5 May 2011
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