The chemosynthetic biofilm microbiome of deep-sea hydrothermal vents across space and time
Abstract Microbial biofilms colonize mineral and biological substrates exposed to fluid circulation at deep-sea hydrothermal vents, providing a biologically active interface along redox boundaries. Since many biofilms at deep-sea vents are associated with invertebrates, microbial distribution and ab...
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BMC
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Environmental Microbiome |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40793-025-00738-x |
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| author | Ashley Grosche Matteo Selci Francesco Smedile Donato Giovannelli Sara Borin Nadine Le Bris Costantino Vetriani |
| author_facet | Ashley Grosche Matteo Selci Francesco Smedile Donato Giovannelli Sara Borin Nadine Le Bris Costantino Vetriani |
| author_sort | Ashley Grosche |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Microbial biofilms colonize mineral and biological substrates exposed to fluid circulation at deep-sea hydrothermal vents, providing a biologically active interface along redox boundaries. Since many biofilms at deep-sea vents are associated with invertebrates, microbial distribution and abundance are not only constrained by local fluid geochemistry, but also through host-microbe interactions. This study examined the spatial distribution and diversity of established microbial biofilm communities collected from three distinct biological regimes characteristic of the East Pacific Rise (9°50 N, 104°17 W) vent system, as well as newly established biofilms on experimental microbial colonization devices. Transcripts from 16S rRNA-based amplicon sequencing revealed that Campylobacterota of the Sulfurimonas and Sulfurovum genera dominated newly-formed biofilms across all biological regimes. Statistical analyses using environmental chemistry data from each sampling site suggest that community composition is significantly impacted by biofilm age, temperature and sulfide concentration ranges, and to a lesser extent, locality. Further, metatranscriptomic analyses were used to investigate changes in community gene expression between seafloor and subseafloor biofilms. Our findings revealed differences in the type and abundance of transcripts related to respiratory pathways, carbon fixation and reactive oxygen species (ROS) detoxification. Overall, this study provides a novel conceptual framework for evaluating biofilm structure and function at deep-sea vents by showing a transition from a niche-specific pioneer microbial community in newly-formed biofilms, to a complex population of increased diversity in established biofilms and by identifying key changes in gene expression in taxonomically similar biofilms during the transition from the shallow subseafloor to the seafloor. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b6a66998d6aa47f4966afad40de4500a |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2524-6372 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
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| series | Environmental Microbiome |
| spelling | doaj-art-b6a66998d6aa47f4966afad40de4500a2025-08-20T03:46:27ZengBMCEnvironmental Microbiome2524-63722025-07-0120111710.1186/s40793-025-00738-xThe chemosynthetic biofilm microbiome of deep-sea hydrothermal vents across space and timeAshley Grosche0Matteo Selci1Francesco Smedile2Donato Giovannelli3Sara Borin4Nadine Le Bris5Costantino Vetriani6Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rutgers UniversityDepartment of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers UniversityDepartment of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers UniversityDepartment of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers UniversityDepartment of Food, Environmental and Nutritional Sciences, University of MilanInstitut de Systématique Evolution et Biodiversité, MNHN-SU-CNRS-EPHE-UA), Sorbonne UniversityDepartment of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rutgers UniversityAbstract Microbial biofilms colonize mineral and biological substrates exposed to fluid circulation at deep-sea hydrothermal vents, providing a biologically active interface along redox boundaries. Since many biofilms at deep-sea vents are associated with invertebrates, microbial distribution and abundance are not only constrained by local fluid geochemistry, but also through host-microbe interactions. This study examined the spatial distribution and diversity of established microbial biofilm communities collected from three distinct biological regimes characteristic of the East Pacific Rise (9°50 N, 104°17 W) vent system, as well as newly established biofilms on experimental microbial colonization devices. Transcripts from 16S rRNA-based amplicon sequencing revealed that Campylobacterota of the Sulfurimonas and Sulfurovum genera dominated newly-formed biofilms across all biological regimes. Statistical analyses using environmental chemistry data from each sampling site suggest that community composition is significantly impacted by biofilm age, temperature and sulfide concentration ranges, and to a lesser extent, locality. Further, metatranscriptomic analyses were used to investigate changes in community gene expression between seafloor and subseafloor biofilms. Our findings revealed differences in the type and abundance of transcripts related to respiratory pathways, carbon fixation and reactive oxygen species (ROS) detoxification. Overall, this study provides a novel conceptual framework for evaluating biofilm structure and function at deep-sea vents by showing a transition from a niche-specific pioneer microbial community in newly-formed biofilms, to a complex population of increased diversity in established biofilms and by identifying key changes in gene expression in taxonomically similar biofilms during the transition from the shallow subseafloor to the seafloor.https://doi.org/10.1186/s40793-025-00738-xChemosynthesisDeep-sea hydrothermal ventsBiofilmsSuccessionCampylobacterotaSulfurovum |
| spellingShingle | Ashley Grosche Matteo Selci Francesco Smedile Donato Giovannelli Sara Borin Nadine Le Bris Costantino Vetriani The chemosynthetic biofilm microbiome of deep-sea hydrothermal vents across space and time Environmental Microbiome Chemosynthesis Deep-sea hydrothermal vents Biofilms Succession Campylobacterota Sulfurovum |
| title | The chemosynthetic biofilm microbiome of deep-sea hydrothermal vents across space and time |
| title_full | The chemosynthetic biofilm microbiome of deep-sea hydrothermal vents across space and time |
| title_fullStr | The chemosynthetic biofilm microbiome of deep-sea hydrothermal vents across space and time |
| title_full_unstemmed | The chemosynthetic biofilm microbiome of deep-sea hydrothermal vents across space and time |
| title_short | The chemosynthetic biofilm microbiome of deep-sea hydrothermal vents across space and time |
| title_sort | chemosynthetic biofilm microbiome of deep sea hydrothermal vents across space and time |
| topic | Chemosynthesis Deep-sea hydrothermal vents Biofilms Succession Campylobacterota Sulfurovum |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40793-025-00738-x |
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