Metabolic Strategies Shared by Basement Residents of the Lost City Hydrothermal Field
William J. Brazelton, Julia M. McGonigle, Shahrzad Motamedi, H. Lizethe Pendleton, Katrina I. Twing, Briggs C. Miller, W. J. Lowe, Alessandrina M. Hoffman, Cecilia A. Prator, Grayson L. Chadwick, R. Anderson, Elaina Thomas, D. A. Butterfield, Karmina A. Aquino, Gretchen L. Früh‐Green, Matthew O. Schrenk, Susan Q. Lang
Abstract
) and creates unusual environmental conditions where simple organic carbon molecules are more stable than dissolved inorganic carbon. This study provides an initial glimpse into the kinds of microbes that live deep within the seafloor where serpentinization takes place, by sampling hydrothermal fluids exiting from the Lost City chimneys. The metabolic strategies that these microbes appear to be using are also shared by microbes that inhabit other sites of serpentinization, including continental subsurface environments and natural springs. Therefore, the results of this study contribute to a broader, interdisciplinary effort to understand the general principles and mechanisms by which serpentinization-associated processes can support life on Earth and perhaps other worlds.