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Distribution of anaerobic methane-oxidizing and sulfate-reducing communities in the G11 Nyegga pockmark, Norwegian Sea

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Abstract

Pockmarks are seabed geological structures sustaining methane seepage in cold seeps. Based on RNA-derived sequences the active fraction of the archaeal community was analysed in sediments associated with the G11 pockmark, in the Nyegga region of the Norwegian Sea. The anaerobic methanotrophic Archaea (ANME) and sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) communities were studied as well. The vertical distribution of the archaeal community assessed by PCR-DGGE highlighted the presence of ANME-2 in surface sediments, and ANME-1 in deeper sediments. Enrichments of methanogens showed the presence of hydrogenotrophic methanogens of the Methanogenium genus in surface sediment layers as well. The active fraction of the archaeal community was uniquely composed of ANME-2 in the shallow sulfate-rich sediments. Functional methyl coenzyme M reductase gene libraries showed that sequences affiliated with the ANME-1 and ANME-3 groups appeared in the deeper sediments but ANME-2 dominated both surface and deeper layers. Finally, dissimilatory sulfite reductase gene libraries revealed a high SRB diversity (i.e. Desulfobacteraceae, Desulfobulbaceae, Syntrophobacteraceae and Firmicutes) in the shallow sulfate-rich sediments. The SRB diversity was much lower in the deeper section. Overall, these results show that the microbial community in sediments associated with a pockmark harbour classical cold seep ANME and SRB communities.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Hervé Nouzé the chief scientist of the VICKING cruise, the ROV team, the officers and crew of the RV Pourquoi Pas? as well as the shipboard scientific community for their help at sea. We would also like to thank Andreas Teske (University of North Carolina), and Christian Jeanthon (Station Biologique of Roscoff) for their helpful scientific comments. This work was funded by the HERMES project Contract No. GOCE-CT-2005-511234-1, and the ANR Deep Oases.

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  1. Laboratoire de Microbiologie des Environnements Extrêmes, UMR 6197, IFREMER Centre de Brest, Département Etudes des Environnements Profonds, Université de Bretagne Occidentale, BP70, 29280, Plouzané, France

    Cassandre Sara Lazar, Julie Dinasquet, Stéphane L’Haridon, Patricia Pignet & Laurent Toffin

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  1. Cassandre Sara Lazar
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  2. Julie Dinasquet
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Correspondence to Cassandre Sara Lazar.

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Lazar, C.S., Dinasquet, J., L’Haridon, S. et al. Distribution of anaerobic methane-oxidizing and sulfate-reducing communities in the G11 Nyegga pockmark, Norwegian Sea. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek 100, 639–653 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10482-011-9620-z

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