Microbial mat from diverse deepsea hydrothermal feilds
We collected microbial mat samples from diverse deepsea hydrothermal feilds, including the Southwest Indian Ridge, Central Indian Ridge, Lau basin, Juan de Fuca Ridge, and South China Sea. These hydrothermal feilds often have a very high concentration of reduced iron. We expected that these regions might inhabit a large number of unique Fe(II)-oxidizing bacteria. Currently, research on Fe(II)-oxidizing bacteria often focuses on a few model hydrothermal feilds. Ecological investigations of a wider range of Fe(II)-rich microbial mats may help broaden our understanding of the diversity and evolution of Fe(II)-oxidizing bacteria.