PRJNA544894
mine metagenome Raw sequence reads
This research focuses on the relationship between microbes, extracellular organic matter and Mn oxides. Nano- and microscale morphologies of microbially mediated Mn oxides are potentially good candidates for life detection (biosignatures), but since production of these oxides involves biogeochemical pathways where concomitant abiotic and biotic mechanisms are closely connected, these mechanisms first need to be untangled. Here we have access to an underground system sustained by epilithic biofilms, which over time have formed rock wall deposits dominated by rare earth element enriched birnessite-type Mn oxides. This system provides a unique opportunity to address microbe-mineral interactions at various scales (from nanometre to millimetre size) by studying microbial populations, processes and products in an emerging extreme environment (low temperature, no light, high metal concentration) that is in part generated by the biofilm itself.