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      Linking Microbial Heterotrophic Activity and Sediment Lithology in Oxic, Oligotrophic Sub-Seafloor Sediments of the North Atlantic Ocean

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          Abstract

          Microbial heterotrophic activity was investigated in oxic sub-seafloor sediments at North Pond, a sediment pond situated at 23°N on the western flank of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The North Pond sediments underlie the oligotrophic North Atlantic Gyre at 4580-m water depth and cover a 7–8 million-year-old basaltic crust aquifer through which seawater flows. Discrete samples for experimentation were obtained from up to ~9 m-long gravity cores taken at 14 stations in the North Pond area. Potential respiration rates were determined in sediment slurries incubated under aerobic conditions with 14C-acetate. Microbial heterotrophic activity, as defined by oxidation of acetate to CO 2 (with O 2 as electron acceptor), was detected in all 14 stations and all depths sampled. Potential respiration rates were generally low (<0.2 nmol of respired acetate cm −3 d −1) in the sediment, but indicate that microbial heterotrophic activity occurs in deep-sea, oxic, sub-seafloor sediments. Furthermore, discernable differences in activity existed between sites and within given depth profiles. At seven stations, activity was increased by several orders of magnitude at depth (up to ~12 nmol of acetate respired cm −3 d −1). We attempted to correlate the measures of activity with high-resolution color and element stratigraphy. Increased activities at certain depths may be correlated to variations in the sediment geology, i.e., to the presence of dark clay-rich layers, of sandy layers, or within clay-rich horizons presumably overlying basalts. This would suggest that the distribution of microbial heterotrophic activity in deeply buried sediments may be linked to specific lithologies. Nevertheless, high-resolution microbial examination at the level currently enjoyed by sedimentologists will be required to fully explore this link.

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          Most cited references21

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          Deep bacterial biosphere in Pacific Ocean sediments

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            Metabolic activity of subsurface life in deep-sea sediments.

            S D'Hondt (2002)
            Global maps of sulfate and methane in marine sediments reveal two provinces of subsurface metabolic activity: a sulfate-rich open-ocean province, and an ocean-margin province where sulfate is limited to shallow sediments. Methane is produced in both regions but is abundant only in sulfate-depleted sediments. Metabolic activity is greatest in narrow zones of sulfate-reducing methane oxidation along ocean margins. The metabolic rates of subseafloor life are orders of magnitude lower than those of life on Earth's surface. Most microorganisms in subseafloor sediments are either inactive or adapted for extraordinarily low metabolic activity.
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              Recent studies on bacterial populations and processes in subseafloor sediments: A review

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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Front Microbiol
                Front. Microbio.
                Frontiers in Microbiology
                Frontiers Research Foundation
                1664-302X
                20 October 2011
                27 December 2011
                2011
                : 2
                : 263
                Affiliations
                [1] 1simpleDepartment of Biogeochemistry, Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology Bremen, Germany
                [2] 2simpleMARUM – Center for Marine Environmental Sciences Bremen, Germany
                Author notes

                Edited by: Axel Schippers, Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR), Germany

                Reviewed by: Jens Kallmeyer, University of Potsdam, Germany; Gordon Webster, Cardiff University, UK

                *Correspondence: Aude Picard, Geomicrobiology, Center for Applied Geoscience, Eberhard Karls University Tübingen, Sigwartstrasse 10, 72076 Tübingen, Germany. e-mail: aude.picard@ 123456uni-tuebingen.de

                This article was submitted to Frontiers in Extreme Microbiology, a specialty of Frontiers in Microbiology.

                Article
                10.3389/fmicb.2011.00263
                3246358
                22207869
                7e35fb91-496f-4b93-b365-8161a2dc63aa
                Copyright © 2011 Picard and Ferdelman.

                This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial License, which permits non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in other forums, provided the original authors and source are credited.

                History
                : 02 October 2011
                : 08 December 2011
                Page count
                Figures: 7, Tables: 1, Equations: 1, References: 31, Pages: 10, Words: 6223
                Categories
                Microbiology
                Original Research

                Microbiology & Virology
                oxic,deep biosphere,heterotrophy,microbial activity,marine sediment
                Microbiology & Virology
                oxic, deep biosphere, heterotrophy, microbial activity, marine sediment

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