Thermogenic hydrocarbon biodegradation by diverse depth-stratified microbial populations at a Scotian Basin cold seep

Xiyang Dong (), Jayne E. Rattray, D. Calvin Campbell, Jamie Webb, Anirban Chakraborty, Oyeboade Adebayo, Stuart Matthews, Carmen Li, Martin Fowler, Natasha M. Morrison, Adam MacDonald, Ryan A. Groves, Ian A. Lewis, Scott H. Wang, Daisuke Mayumi, Chris Greening and Casey R. J. Hubert ()
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Xiyang Dong: Sun Yat-Sen University
Jayne E. Rattray: University of Calgary
D. Calvin Campbell: Geological Survey of Canada-Atlantic
Jamie Webb: Applied Petroleum Technology (Canada)
Anirban Chakraborty: University of Calgary
Oyeboade Adebayo: University of Calgary
Stuart Matthews: University of Calgary
Carmen Li: University of Calgary
Martin Fowler: Applied Petroleum Technology (Canada)
Natasha M. Morrison: Nova Scotia Department of Energy and Mines
Adam MacDonald: Nova Scotia Department of Energy and Mines
Ryan A. Groves: University of Calgary
Ian A. Lewis: University of Calgary
Scott H. Wang: University of Calgary
Daisuke Mayumi: Institute for Geo-Resources and Environment, Geological Survey of Japan, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST)
Chris Greening: Monash University
Casey R. J. Hubert: University of Calgary

Nature Communications, 2020, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-14

Abstract: Abstract At marine cold seeps, gaseous and liquid hydrocarbons migrate from deep subsurface origins to the sediment-water interface. Cold seep sediments are known to host taxonomically diverse microorganisms, but little is known about their metabolic potential and depth distribution in relation to hydrocarbon and electron acceptor availability. Here we combined geophysical, geochemical, metagenomic and metabolomic measurements to profile microbial activities at a newly discovered cold seep in the deep sea. Metagenomic profiling revealed compositional and functional differentiation between near-surface sediments and deeper subsurface layers. In both sulfate-rich and sulfate-depleted depths, various archaeal and bacterial community members are actively oxidizing thermogenic hydrocarbons anaerobically. Depth distributions of hydrocarbon-oxidizing archaea revealed that they are not necessarily associated with sulfate reduction, which is especially surprising for anaerobic ethane and butane oxidizers. Overall, these findings link subseafloor microbiomes to various biochemical mechanisms for the anaerobic degradation of deeply-sourced thermogenic hydrocarbons.

Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-19648-2

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