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Microbiology of the Deep Continental Biosphere

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Their World: A Diversity of Microbial Environments

Part of the book series: Advances in Environmental Microbiology ((AEM,volume 1))

Abstract

Subsurface microbial communities in sediment and fractured rock environments beneath continental surface environments and beneath the ocean floor comprise a significant but largely unexplored portion of the Earth’s biosphere. The continental subsurface is highly geologically varied, and so the abundance, diversity, and metabolic functions of its inhabitant microbes are even more widely ranging than those of marine systems. Microbial ecosystems in relatively shallow groundwater systems are largely fueled by organic carbon derived from photosynthesis, whereas deeper groundwater ecosystems are fueled by molecular hydrogen, methane, and short-chain hydrocarbons (“geogas”), produced by abiotic water–rock interactions, e.g., serpentinization and radiolysis of water. The abundances of microbes generally decline with depth, with deep fracture waters containing ~103–104 cells ml−1; many of these microbes are metabolically active, albeit at very slow rates The depth limit of the biosphere may be controlled by a combination of temperature and other factors such as energy availability and pressure. Diverse bacteria and archaea appear to be adapted for life under the extremes posed by subterranean conditions. Further research is needed to explore a wider range of subsurface continental geologic settings, to constrain the rates of microbial metabolism, and to understand mechanisms of evolution in the subsurface.

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  1. New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM, 87801, USA

    Thomas L. Kieft

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    Christon J. Hurst

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Kieft, T.L. (2016). Microbiology of the Deep Continental Biosphere. In: Hurst, C. (eds) Their World: A Diversity of Microbial Environments. Advances in Environmental Microbiology, vol 1. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28071-4_6

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