Archaeal diversity from cold seep sediments of the South China Sea
Cold seeps on the continental margins are characterized by intense microbial activities that consume a large portion of methane by anaerobic methanotrophic archaea (ANME) through anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM). Here, we combined the 16S rRNA gene sequencing and lipidomic approaches to analyze archaeal communities and their lipids in an active cold seep and reference sediments from the South China Sea.