ArticleMicrobiome2019
Proliferation of hydrocarbon-degrading microbes at the bottom of the Mariana Trench.
Article in Microbiome, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 75 papers.
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Who cites it
75 citing papers in PubMed, 202 citations in OpenAlex.
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- Viruses in Extreme Marine Environments and Their Potential Existence in Extraterrestrial Environments.Viruses · 2026Review
- Spatial Heterogeneity of Microbial Communities and Biogeochemical Function in Water Column of Site F Cold Seep, South China Sea.Microbial ecology · 2026Article
- Exploration of Carotenoid-Producing Microorganisms from the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench and Their Antioxidant Potential.Marine drugs · 2026Article
- Article
- Metabolic interactions enable aerobic degradation of the environmental pollutant BDE-47.The ISME journal · 2026Article
- Alternative carbon and energy metabolisms linked to hydrocarbon degradation are widely distributed across the different microbial communities from deep-sea sediments of the Gulf of Mexico.Environmental microbiome · 2025Article
- Article
- D-amino acid metabolic versatility as a common adaptive strategy in the Mariana Trench microbiome.mSystems · 2025Article
- Genomic evidence on the distribution and ecological function of Pseudomonas in hadal zone.BMC microbiology · 2025Article
- High hydrostatic pressure stimulates n-CCommunications biology · 2025Article
- Nutrient amendments enrich microbial hydrocarbon degradation metagenomic potential in freshwater coastal wetland microcosm experiments.Applied and environmental microbiology · 2025Article
- Extensive halogenated organic compound reservoirs and active microbial dehalogenation in Mariana Trench sediments.The ISME journal · 2025Article
- Alkane degradation mechanism ofFrontiers in microbiology · 2025Article
- Microbial community structure and metabolic characteristics in sediments from five different deep-sea trenches.Frontiers in microbiology · 2025Article
- A novel virus potentially evolved from the N4-like viruses represents a unique viral family:Applied and environmental microbiology · 2024Article
- Novel, active, and uncultured hydrocarbon-degrading microbes in the ocean.Applied and environmental microbiology · 2024Article
- Article
- Microbial communities reveal niche partitioning across the slope and bottom zones of the challenger deep.Environmental microbiology reports · 2024Article
- Article
15 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
20 authors at 6 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe Mariana Trench is the deepest known site in the Earth's oceans, reaching a depth of ~ 11,000 m at the Challenger Deep. Recent studies reveal that hadal waters harbor distinctive microbial planktonic communities. However, the genetic potential of microbial communities within the hadal zone is poorly understood.
resultsHere, implementing both culture-dependent and culture-independent methods, we perform extensive analysis of microbial populations and their genetic potential at different depths in the Mariana Trench. Unexpectedly, we observed an abrupt increase in the abundance of hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria at depths > 10,400 m in the Challenger Deep. Indeed, the proportion of hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria at > 10,400 m is the highest observed in any natural environment on Earth. These bacteria were mainly Oleibacter, Thalassolituus, and Alcanivorax genera, all of which include species known to consume aliphatic hydrocarbons. This community shift towards hydrocarbon degraders was accompanied by increased abundance and transcription of genes involved in alkane degradation. Correspondingly, three Alcanivorax species that were isolated from 10,400 m water supplemented with hexadecane were able to efficiently degrade n-alkanes under conditions simulating the deep sea, as did a reference Oleibacter strain cultured at atmospheric pressure. Abundant n-alkanes were observed in sinking particles at 2000, 4000, and 6000 m (averaged 23.5 μg/gdw) and hadal surface sediments at depths of 10,908, 10,909, and 10,911 m (averaged 2.3 μg/gdw). The δ
conclusionsThese results reveal that hydrocarbon-degrading microorganisms are present in great abundance in the deepest seawater on Earth and shed a new light on potential biological processes in this extreme environment.
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