Facultad de Ciencias Marinas, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico.
Laboratorio de Astrobiología, Instituto de Astronomía, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico.
PeerJ. 2024 Aug 19;12:e17724. doi: 10.7717/peerj.17724. eCollection 2024.
Discovering new deep hydrothermal vent systems is one of the biggest challenges in ocean exploration. They are a unique window to elucidate the physical, geochemical, and biological processes that occur on the seafloor and are involved in the evolution of life on Earth. In this study, we present a molecular analysis of the microbial composition within the newly discovered hydrothermal vent field, , situated in the Southern Pescadero Basin within the Gulf of California. During the cruise expedition FK181031 in 2018, 33 sediment cores were collected from various sites within the Pescadero vent fields and processed for 16S rRNA amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) and geochemical analysis. Correlative analysis of the chemical composition of hydrothermal pore fluids and microbial abundances identified several sediment-associated phyla, including Thermotogota, that appear to be enriched in sediment horizons impacted by hydrothermal fluid flow. Comparative analysis of Thermotogota with the previously explored hydrothermal vent field situated 2 km away displayed broad similarity between the two locations, although at finer scales (., ASV level), there were notable differences that point to core-to-core and site-level factors revealing distinct patterns of distribution and abundance within these two sediment-hosted hydrothermal vent fields. These patterns are intricately linked to the specific physical and geochemical conditions defining each vent, illuminating the complexity of this unique deep ocean chemosynthetic ecosystem.
发现新的深海热液喷口系统是海洋探索中最大的挑战之一。它们是一个独特的窗口，可以阐明发生在海底的物理、地球化学和生物过程，并参与地球生命的演化。在这项研究中，我们对新发现的热液喷口场，位于加利福尼亚湾南皮斯卡德罗盆地内的 ，进行了微生物组成的分子分析。在 2018 年的 FK181031 巡航考察中，从皮斯卡德罗喷口场的不同地点采集了 33 个沉积物岩芯，并进行了 16S rRNA 扩增子序列变异 (ASV) 和地球化学分析。热液孔隙流体化学成分与微生物丰度的相关分析确定了几个与沉积物相关的门，包括Thermotogota，它们似乎在受热液流动影响的沉积物层中富集。Thermotogota 与之前探索的 相距 2 公里的热液喷口场的比较分析显示，两个地点之间存在广泛的相似性，尽管在更精细的尺度（例如，ASV 水平）上存在明显的差异，这些差异指向核心之间和站点之间的因素，揭示了这两个沉积物中热液喷口场的独特分布和丰度模式。这些模式与每个喷口特有的物理和地球化学条件密切相关，阐明了这个独特深海化能合成生态系统的复杂性。
