Department of Biology, College of Charleston, 66 George Street, Charleston, SC 29424, United States.
Department of Biology, Western Washington University, 516 High St, Bellingham, WA 98225, United States.
FEMS Microbiol Ecol. 2024 Jan 24;100(2). doi: 10.1093/femsec/fiae001.
The discharge of hydrothermal vents on the seafloor provides energy sources for dynamic and productive ecosystems, which are supported by chemosynthetic microbial populations. These populations use the energy gained by oxidizing the reduced chemicals contained within the vent fluids to fix carbon and support multiple trophic levels. Hydrothermal discharge is ephemeral and chemical composition of such fluids varies over space and time, which can result in geographically distinct microbial communities. To investigate the foundational members of the community, microbial growth chambers were placed within the hydrothermal discharge at Axial Seamount (Juan de Fuca Ridge), Magic Mountain Seamount (Explorer Ridge), and Kama'ehuakanaloa Seamount (Hawai'i hotspot). Campylobacteria were identified within the nascent communities, but different amplicon sequence variants were present at Axial and Kama'ehuakanaloa Seamounts, indicating that geography in addition to the composition of the vent effluent influences microbial community development. Across these vent locations, dissolved iron concentration was the strongest driver of community structure. These results provide insights into nascent microbial community structure and shed light on the development of diverse lithotrophic communities at hydrothermal vents.
海底热液喷口的排放为动态和多产的生态系统提供了能源，这些生态系统由化能合成微生物种群支持。这些种群利用从喷口流体中所含的还原化学物质中氧化获得的能量来固定碳并支持多个营养层次。热液排放是短暂的，这种流体的化学成分在空间和时间上都有所变化，这可能导致地理上不同的微生物群落。为了研究群落的基础成员，微生物生长室被放置在轴向海山（胡安·德富卡海脊）、魔术山海山（探险家海脊）和卡马埃哈卡纳洛阿海山（夏威夷热点）的热液排放中。在新生群落中鉴定出弯曲杆菌，但在轴向和卡马埃哈卡纳洛阿海山存在不同的扩增子序列变体，表明除了喷口流出物的组成外，地理位置也会影响微生物群落的发展。在这些喷口位置，溶解铁浓度是群落结构的最强驱动因素。这些结果提供了对新生微生物群落结构的深入了解，并阐明了热液喷口处多样的自养群落的发展。
