title: Microbial diversity in deep-sea methane seep sediments presented by SSU rRNA gene tag sequencing.
abstract: Microbial community structures in methane seep sediments in the Nankai Trough were analyzed by tag-sequencing analysis for the small subunit (SSU) rRNA gene using a newly developed primer set. The dominant members of Archaea were Deep-sea Hydrothermal Vent Euryarchaeotic Group 6 (DHVEG 6), Marine Group I (MGI) and Deep Sea Archaeal Group (DSAG), and those in Bacteria were Alpha-, Gamma-, Delta- and Epsilonproteobacteria, Chloroflexi, Bacteroidetes, Planctomycetes and Acidobacteria. Diversity and richness were examined by 8,709 and 7,690 tag-sequences from sediments at 5 and 25 cm below the seafloor (cmbsf), respectively. The estimated diversity and richness in the methane seep sediment are as high as those in soil and deep-sea hydrothermal environments, although the tag-sequences obtained in this study were not sufficient to show whole microbial diversity in this analysis. We also compared the diversity and richness of each taxon/division between the sediments from the two depths, and found that the diversity and richness of some taxa/divisions varied significantly along with the depth.
authors.affiliation: Subsurface Geobiology & Advanced Research Project, Extremobiosphere Research Program, Institute of Biogeosciences, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science & Technology, 2–15 Natsushima-cho, Yokosuka 237–0061, Japan. takuron@jamstec.go.jp
authors.forename: Takuro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nunoura
authors.forename: Yoshihiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takaki
authors.forename: Hiromi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kazama
authors.forename: Miho
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hirai
authors.forename: Juichiro
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ashi
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Imachi
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takai
mesh_terms: D001105:Archaea / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001483:Base Sequence; D044822:Biodiversity; D019641:DNA, Archaeal / Q000235:genetics; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000382:microbiology*; D060086:Hydrothermal Vents / Q000382:microbiology; D008697:Methane; D059013:Microbial Consortia / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D010802:Phylogeny; D012335:RNA, Ribosomal / Q000235:genetics; D012623:Seawater / Q000382:microbiology*; D017423:Sequence Analysis, RNA
chemical_list: D019641:DNA, Archaeal; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D012335:RNA, Ribosomal; D008697:Methane