Manganese-Cycling Microbial Communities Inside Deep-Sea Manganese Nodules
- 28 May 2015
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Chemical Society (ACS) in Environmental Science & Technology
- Vol. 49 (13), 7692-7700
- https://doi.org/10.1021/es504930v
Abstract
Polymetallic nodules (manganese nodules) have been formed on deep sea sediments over millions of years and are currently explored for their economic potential, particularly for cobalt, nickel, copper, and manganese. Here we explored microbial communities inside nodules from the northeastern equatorial Pacific. The nodules have a large connected pore space with a huge inner surface of 120 m2/g as analyzed by computer tomography and BET measurements. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and electron microprobe analysis revealed a complex chemical fine structure. This consisted of layers with highly variable Mn/Fe ratios (500) and mainly of turbostratic phyllomanganates such as 7 and 10 Å vernadites alternating with layers of Fe-bearing vernadite (δ-MnO2) epitaxially intergrown with amorphous feroxyhyte (δ-FeOOH). Using molecular 16S rRNA gene techniques (clone libraries, pyrosequencing, and real-time PCR), we show that polymetallic nodules provide a suitable habitat for prokaryotes with an abundant and diverse prokaryotic community dominated by nodule-specific Mn(IV)-reducing and Mn(II)-oxidizing bacteria. These bacteria were not detected in the nodule-surrounding sediment. The high abundance and dominance of Mn-cycling bacteria in the manganese nodules argue for a biologically driven closed manganese cycle inside the nodules relevant for their formation and potential degradation.Keywords
Funding Information
- Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (03G0205A)
This publication has 57 references indexed in Scilit:
- Microbial communities associated with ferromanganese nodules and the surrounding sedimentsFrontiers in Microbiology, 2013
- The SILVA ribosomal RNA gene database project: improved data processing and web-based toolsNucleic Acids Research, 2012
- Diversity, Physiology, and Niche Differentiation of Ammonia-Oxidizing ArchaeaApplied and Environmental Microbiology, 2012
- UCHIME improves sensitivity and speed of chimera detectionBioinformatics, 2011
- Introducing mothur: Open-Source, Platform-Independent, Community-Supported Software for Describing and Comparing Microbial CommunitiesApplied and Environmental Microbiology, 2009
- Biogenic Origin of Polymetallic Nodules from the Clarion-Clipperton Zone in the Eastern Pacific Ocean: Electron Microscopic and EDX EvidenceMarine Biotechnology, 2008
- Abundance and diversity of microbial life in ocean crustNature, 2008
- Bacterial Communities Inside and Surrounding Soil Iron-Manganese NodulesGeomicrobiology Journal, 2008
- SILVA: a comprehensive online resource for quality checked and aligned ribosomal RNA sequence data compatible with ARBNucleic Acids Research, 2007
- Vailulu’u Seamount, Samoa: Life and death on an active submarine volcanoProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2006