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Person: M. Elvert

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Publications > Journal Article
Published: July 23, 2015
Science
Exploring deep microbial life in coal-bearing sediment down to  2.5 km below the ocean floor
Authors: Fumio Inagaki, Kai-Uwe Hinrichs, Yusuke Kubo, M. W. Bowles, Victoria B. Heuer, W.-L. Hong, Tatsuhiko Hoshino, Akira Ijiri, H. Imachi, M. Ito, M. Kaneko, Mark A. Lever, Y.-S. Lin, B. A. Methe, S. Morita, Yuki Morono, W. Tanikawa, M. Bihan, S. A. Bowden, M. Elvert, Clemens Glombitza, D. Gross, G. J. Harrington, T. Hori, K. Li, D. Limmer, C.-H. Liu, M. Murayama, N. Ohkouchi, Shuhei Ono, Y.-S. Park, S. C. Phillips, X. Prieto-Mollar, M. Purkey, Natascha Riedinger, Y. Sanada, Justine Sauvage, G. Snyder, R. Susilawati, Y. Takano, E. Tasumi, T. Terada, H. Tomaru, Elizabeth Trembath-Reichert, D. T. Wang, Y. Yamada
C-DEBI Contribution Number: 310
Publications > Journal Article
Published: March 14, 2013
Science
Evidence for Microbial Carbon and Sulfur Cycling in Deeply Buried Ridge Flank Basalt
Authors: Mark A. Lever, Olivier Rouxel, Jeffrey C. Alt, N. Shimizu, Shuhei Ono, R. M. Coggon, W. C. Shanks, Laura L. Lapham, M. Elvert, X. Prieto-Mollar, Kai-Uwe Hinrichs, Fumio Inagaki, Andreas P. Teske
C-DEBI Contribution Number: 139
Publications > Journal Article
Science
Exploring deep microbial life in coal-bearing sediment down to  2.5 km below the ocean floor
Authors: Fumio Inagaki, Kai-Uwe Hinrichs, Yusuke Kubo, M. W. Bowles, Victoria B. Heuer, W.-L. Hong, Tatsuhiko Hoshino, Akira Ijiri, H. Imachi, M. Ito, M. Kaneko, Mark A. Lever, Y.-S. Lin, B. A. Methe, S. Morita, Yuki Morono, W. Tanikawa, M. Bihan, S. A. Bowden, M. Elvert, Clemens Glombitza, D. Gross, G. J. Harrington, T. Hori, K. Li, D. Limmer, C.-H. Liu, M. Murayama, N. Ohkouchi, Shuhei Ono, Y.-S. Park, S. C. Phillips, X. Prieto-Mollar, M. Purkey, Natascha Riedinger, Y. Sanada, Justine Sauvage, G. Snyder, R. Susilawati, Y. Takano, E. Tasumi, T. Terada, H. Tomaru, Elizabeth Trembath-Reichert, D. T. Wang, Y. Yamada
Published: July 23, 2015
C-DEBI Contribution Number: 310

Abstract

Microbial life inhabits deeply buried marine sediments, but the extent of this vast ecosystem remains poorly constrained. Here we provide evidence for the existence of microbial communities in ~40° to 60°C sediment associated with lignite coal beds at ~1.5 to 2.5 km below the seafloor in the Pacific Ocean off Japan. Microbial methanogenesis was indicated by the isotopic compositions of methane and carbon dioxide, biomarkers, cultivation data, and gas compositions. Concentrations of indigenous microbial cells below 1.5 km ranged from <10 to ~104 cells cm−3. Peak concentrations occurred in lignite layers, where communities differed markedly from shallower subseafloor communities and instead resembled organotrophic communities in forest soils. This suggests that terrigenous sediments retain indigenous community members tens of millions of years after burial in the seabed.
Source: http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.aaa6882

Related Items

Awards
Awards > Research Exchange Grants
Award Dates: March 17, 2015 — April 10, 2015
Determination of deep biosphere cell activity and identity utilizing the state of the art low-biomass, single cell techniques developed at JAMSTEC in their class 10,000 clean room
PI: Elizabeth Trembath-Reichert (California Institute of Technology)
Current Placement: Postdoctoral Researcher, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Advisor: Victoria J. Orphan (California Institute of Technology)
Host: Fumio Inagaki (JAMSTEC)
Publications > Journal Article
Science
Evidence for Microbial Carbon and Sulfur Cycling in Deeply Buried Ridge Flank Basalt
Authors: Mark A. Lever, Olivier Rouxel, Jeffrey C. Alt, N. Shimizu, Shuhei Ono, R. M. Coggon, W. C. Shanks, Laura L. Lapham, M. Elvert, X. Prieto-Mollar, Kai-Uwe Hinrichs, Fumio Inagaki, Andreas P. Teske
Published: March 14, 2013
C-DEBI Contribution Number: 139

Abstract

Sediment-covered basalt on the flanks of mid-ocean ridges constitutes most of Earth's oceanic crust, but the composition and metabolic function of its microbial ecosystem are largely unknown. By drilling into 3.5-million-year-old subseafloor basalt, we demonstrated the presence of methane- and sulfur-cycling microbes on the eastern flank of the Juan de Fuca Ridge. Depth horizons with functional genes indicative of methane-cycling and sulfate-reducing microorganisms are enriched in solid-phase sulfur and total organic carbon, host δ13C- and δ34S-isotopic values with a biological imprint, and show clear signs of microbial activity when incubated in the laboratory. Downcore changes in carbon and sulfur cycling show discrete geochemical intervals with chemoautotrophic δ13C signatures locally attenuated by heterotrophic metabolism.

Source: http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1229240

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