Archaeal community structure in sediments from a seamount in the Mariana Volcanic Arc

W.Y. Zhang (1, 2, 3) , J. Liu (1, 2) , Y. Dong (1, 3) , X.G. Li (1, 3) , C. Xu (1, 2) , T. Xiao (1, 4) , H.M. Pan (1, 4) , L.F. Wu (5, 4)

1 Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology [Qingdao]
2 CAS - Chinese Academy of Sciences [Beijing]
3 Center for Ocean Mega-Science [Qingdao]
4 LIA-MagMC - International Associated Laboratory of Evolution and Development of Magnetotactic Multicellular Organisms
5 LCB - Laboratoire de chimie bactérienne

Seamounts are subsurface mountains in the ocean. Examination of the abundance and distribution of Archaea in seamount ecosystems may provide a better understanding of their ecological functions. Most studies of marine archaeal assemblages in seamount area have focused on hydrothermal vents or ferromanganese crusts. We investigated the archaeal communities from a seamount of the Mariana Volcanic Arc, in the tropical western Pacific Ocean by using high-throughput sequencing. Thaumarchaeota was dominant in the sediments of all sample stations. Community diversity and species richness were greatest at stations near the top of the seamount, and lowest at the deepest station. One sample station on the steep southeast slope that faced the Yap-Mariana trench had a unique composition of Archaea. In summary, depth has an important influence on archaeal community structure, and the geographic properties and sediment characteristics may explain the unique distribution patterns of Archaea in this seamount. This study provides a foundation for future research on Archaea in seamounts.

Keywords: seamount; archaeal diversity; community structure; Nitrosopumilales

Domains: Life Sciences [q-bio]

W.Y. Zhang, J. Liu, Y. Dong, X.G. Li, C. Xu, et al.. Archaeal community structure in sediments from a seamount in the Mariana Volcanic Arc. Chinese Journal of Oceanology and Limnology, 2019, 37 (4), pp.1197-1210. ⟨10.1007/s00343-019-8044-x⟩. ⟨hal-02370049⟩