Cold Seeps on the Passive Northern U.S. Atlantic Margin Host Globally Representative Members of the Seep Microbiome with Locally Dominant Strains of Archaea

Abstract

at four cold seeps on the northern USAM and found that despite being colocated on the same continental slope, the communities significantly differ by site at the sequence variant level, particularly methane-cycling community members. Differentiation by site was not observed in similarly spaced background sediments, raising interesting questions about the dispersal pathways of cold seep microorganisms. Understanding the genetic makeup of these discrete seafloor ecosystems and how their microbial communities develop will be increasingly important as the climate changes.

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