VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Espoo, Finland.
Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
ISME J. 2014 Jan;8(1):126-38. doi: 10.1038/ismej.2013.125. Epub 2013 Aug 15.
Microbial life in the nutrient-limited and low-permeability continental crystalline crust is abundant but remains relatively unexplored. Using high-throughput sequencing to assess the 16S rRNA gene diversity, we found diverse bacterial and archaeal communities along a 2516-m-deep drill hole in continental crystalline crust in Outokumpu, Finland. These communities varied at different sampling depths in response to prevailing lithology and hydrogeochemistry. Further analysis by shotgun metagenomic sequencing revealed variable carbon and nutrient utilization strategies as well as specific functional and physiological adaptations uniquely associated with specific environmental conditions. Altogether, our results show that predominant geological and hydrogeochemical conditions, including the existence and connectivity of fracture systems and the low amounts of available energy, have a key role in controlling microbial ecology and evolution in the nutrient and energy-poor deep crustal biosphere.
大陆结晶壳中营养有限且渗透性低的环境中存在丰富的微生物生命，但这些微生物仍然相对未被探索。本研究采用高通量测序技术评估 16S rRNA 基因多样性，在芬兰奥拓昆普的一个 2516 米深的大陆结晶壳钻孔中发现了多样化的细菌和古菌群落。这些群落根据主要的岩石学和水文地球化学条件，在不同的采样深度上存在差异。通过 shotgun 宏基因组测序的进一步分析揭示了可变的碳和养分利用策略，以及与特定环境条件相关的独特的特定功能和生理适应性。总之，我们的研究结果表明，主要的地质和水文地球化学条件，包括断裂系统的存在和连通性以及可用能量的低水平，对控制营养和能量贫乏的深部地壳生物圈中的微生物生态和进化起着关键作用。
