Microbial Ecology of Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Systems

Deep-sea hydrothermal systems are dynamic interfaces where superheated, mineral-rich fluids emerge from the seabed and mix with cold, oxygenated seawater. These environments support dense microbial communities that harness chemical energy through chemolithoautotrophy, driving primary production in the absence of sunlight. Key players include members of the Epsilon- and Gammaproteobacteria, diverse archaea and novel bacterial lineages, which collectively catalyse the oxidation and reduction of sulphur, methane, hydrogen and other inorganic substrates. Microbial activities at vent chimneys and in buoyant plumes underpin element cycling on a global scale, influence ocean chemistry and offer models for early life and biotechnological innovation. Recent advances in metagenomics, single-cell genomics and high-resolution geochemical profiling have revealed the genomic basis of metabolic specialisation, population structure and adaptive evolution in these extremophiles, highlighting their resilience to steep redox gradients and temperature extremes.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have uncovered a hydrogen-utilising Sulfurimonas lineage that dominates cold, oxygen-saturated hydrothermal plumes across mid-ocean ridges. Genomic analyses reveal a streamlined genome with loss of nitrate and nitrite reductases, coupled with acquisition of high-affinity oxidases, indicative of an aerobic chemolithotrophic lifestyle. This lineage oxidises hydrogen to fuel carbon fixation and contributes substantially to sulphur and nitrogen cycling in deep-sea plumes, challenging previous notions of niche partitioning and underscoring the global importance of hydrogenotrophy in plume biogeochemistry.

Microbial Ecology of Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Systems publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in microbial ecology of deep-sea hydrothermal systems across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Chemolithoautotrophy: Metabolic process by which organisms derive energy from inorganic compounds and fix carbon dioxide.

Hydrothermal plume: Buoyant jet of vent fluid mixed with seawater, enriched in reduced chemicals and supporting dispersed microbial communities.

Metagenome-assembled genome (MAG): Genome reconstructed from environmental DNA sequencing data, representing an uncultured microbial population.

Metabolic connectivity: Measure of how microbial pathways and taxa interact to share energy and substrates within a community.

References

1. A hydrogenotrophic Sulfurimonas is globally abundant in deep-sea oxygen-saturated hydrothermal plumes. Nature Microbiology (2023).
2. Sulfur cycling connects microbiomes and biogeochemistry in deep-sea hydrothermal plumes. The ISME Journal: Multidisciplinary Journal of Microbial Ecology (2023).
3. Genome diversification in globally distributed novel marine Proteobacteria is linked to environmental adaptation. The ISME Journal: Multidisciplinary Journal of Microbial Ecology (2020).