Montgomery Andrew, Zhuang Guang-Chao, Zhou Zhichao, Langwig Marguerite V, Millán-Motolinía María Del Carmen, Choi Hannah Y L, Hunter Kimberley S, Mortera-Gutiérrez Carlos A, Hyancinthe Christelle, Marinelli Zachary, Anantharaman Karthik, Teske Andreas, Joye Samantha B
Department of Marine Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.
Frontiers Science Center for Deep Ocean Multispheres and Earth System (FDOMES) and Key Laboratory of Marine Chemistry Theory and Technology, Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China.
Nat Commun. 2025 May 28;16(1):4934. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-59793-0.
Deep-sea hydrothermal plumes are characterized by chemoautotrophic production fueled by the oxidation of reduced inorganic substrates. Recently, organic carbon cycling was proposed, but the metabolic fate of organic carbon is unconstrained. Here, we investigate organic carbon metabolisms in and around a hydrothermal plume to constrain the impacts of hydrothermal vents on deep-sea carbon cycling. Acetate and methanol are detected throughout the water column and are rapidly metabolized in Guaymas Basin waters. Heterotrophic production, up to 7.69 µg C L d, greatly exceeds chemoautotrophic production. Relative to shallow water, elevated microbial activity coincides with a distinct plume signature, indicating that microbial communities respond quickly to hydrothermal inputs. Metatranscriptomic analysis of functional genes for heterotrophic metabolisms implicates Gammaproteobacteria and diverse heterotrophs in hydrothermally-sourced organic carbon degradation. Our results illustrate that organic carbon is differentially cycled within hydrothermal plumes, suggesting that hydrothermal inputs profoundly impact heterotrophic activity in the deep sea.
深海热液羽流的特征是通过还原无机底物的氧化来驱动化学自养生产。最近，有人提出了有机碳循环，但有机碳的代谢归宿尚无定论。在这里，我们研究了热液羽流及其周围的有机碳代谢，以确定热液喷口对深海碳循环的影响。在整个水柱中都检测到了醋酸盐和甲醇，并且它们在瓜伊马斯盆海水体中迅速被代谢。异养生产高达7.69微克碳/升·天，大大超过化学自养生产。相对于浅水，微生物活性的升高与独特的羽流特征相吻合，这表明微生物群落对热液输入反应迅速。对异养代谢功能基因的宏转录组分析表明，γ-变形菌和多种异养生物参与了热液源有机碳的降解。我们的结果表明，有机碳在热液羽流中以不同的方式循环，这表明热液输入对深海中的异养活动有深远影响。
