title: Phylogenetic Diversity of aprA Genes in Subseafloor Sediments on the Northwestern Pacific Margin off Japan.
abstract: Markedly diverse sequences of the adenosine-5'-phosphosulfate reductase alpha subunit gene (aprA), which encodes a key enzyme in microbial sulfate reduction and sulfur oxidation, were detected in subseafloor sediments on the northwestern Pacific off Japan. The aprA gene sequences were grouped into 135 operational taxonomic units (90% sequence identity), including genes related to putative sulfur-oxidizing bacteria predominantly detected in sulfate-depleted deep sediments. Our results suggest that microbial ecosystems in the subseafloor biosphere have phylogenetically diverse genetic potentials to mediate cryptic sulfur cycles in sediments, even where sulfate is rarely present.
authors.affiliation: Department of Subsurface Geobiological Analysis and Research (D-SUGAR), Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC).
authors.forename: Masataka
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aoki
authors.forename: Ryota
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kakiuchi
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamaguchi
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takai
authors.forename: Fumio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Inagaki
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Imachi
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification* / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D014644:Genetic Variation; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000382:microbiology; D007564:Japan; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D050862:Oxidoreductases Acting on Sulfur Group Donors / Q000235:genetics*; D010140:Pacific Ocean; D010802:Phylogeny
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D050862:Oxidoreductases Acting on Sulfur Group Donors; C019618:adenylylsulfate reductase