Culture-independent characterization of a novel microbial community at a hydrothermal vent at Brothers volcano, Kermadec arc, New Zealand

Abstract

The bacterial and archaeal diversity of a hydrothermal vent microbial community at Brothers volcano situated in the Kermadec arc, ∼400 km off the north coast of New Zealand, was examined using culture-independent molecular analysis. An unusual microbial community was detected with only 1% and 40% of the bacterial phylotypes exhibiting >92% small subunit (SSU) rRNA gene sequence similarity with cultivated and noncultivated microbes, respectively. Of the 29 bacterial representative phylotypes, over one third of the SSU rRNA gene sequences retrieved belonged to uncultivated candidate divisions including OP1, OP3, OP5, OP8, OD1, and OP11. All archaeal phylotypes belonged to the phylum Euryarchaeota in the uncultivated groups deep hydrothermal vent euryarchaeotal (DHVE) I and II or to the phylum Korarchaeota. Like the bacterial clone library, only a small proportion of archaeal SSU rRNA gene sequences (∼2% and 20%) displayed >92% sequence identity with any archaeal isolates or noncultivated microbes, respectively. Although the bacterial phylotypes detected were phylogenetically most similar to microbial communities detected in methane, hydrocarbon, and carbon dioxide-based hydrothermal and seep environments, no phylotypes directly associated with anaerobic methane oxidation and mcrA activity could be detected. The geochemical composition of the vent fluids at the Brothers-lower cone sample site is unusual and we suggest that it may play a prominent role in the species selection of this microbial community. Copyright 2008 by the American Geophysical Union.