Diversity and spatial distribution of amoA-encoding archaea in the deep-sea sediments of the tropical West Pacific Continental Margin.
OBJECTIVE
The ecological characteristics of the deep-sea amoA-encoding archaea (AEA) are largely unsolved. Our aim was to study the diversity, structure and distribution of the AEA community in the sediments of the tropical West Pacific Continental Margin, to develop a general view of the AEA biogeography in the deep-sea extreme environment.


RESULTS
Archaeal amoA clone libraries were constructed. Diverse and novel amoA sequences were identified, with the Bohol Sea, Bashi Strait and Sibuyan Sea harbouring the highest and the Bicol Shelf the lowest AEA diversity. Phylogenetic and statistical analyses illustrate a heterogeneous distribution of the AEA community, probably caused by the differential distribution of the terrestrial or estuarine AEA in the various sampling sites.


CONCLUSIONS
The deep-sea sedimentary environments potentially harbour diverse and novel AEA in the tropical West Pacific Continental Margin. The stations in the Philippine inland seas (including station 3043) may represent AEA assemblages with various terrestrial influences and the stations connected directly to the open Philippine Sea may represent marine environment-dominant AEA assemblages.


CONCLUSIONS
Our study indicates the potential importance of geological and climatic events in the transport of terrestrial micro-organisms to the deep-sea sedimentary environments, almost totally neglected previously.
Dang
H
H
Key Laboratory of Marine Geology and Environment, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, China. DangHY@upc.edu.cn
Li
J
J
Zhang
X
X
Li
T
T
Tian
F
F
Jin
W
W
D001105:Archaea / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D019843:Archaeal Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D001483:Base Sequence; D019641:DNA, Archaeal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification; D003710:Demography; D019848:Gene Expression Regulation, Archaeal / Q000502:physiology*; D015723:Gene Library; D014644:Genetic Variation; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000382:microbiology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010140:Pacific Ocean; D010802:Phylogeny; D014329:Tropical Climate
D019843:Archaeal Proteins; D019641:DNA, Archaeal