根据David Walsh及其同僚的一项新的分析披露，海洋的死亡区域中存在着一种具有专门化代谢工具箱的微生物，使得它们能够在缺氧的水域中旺盛生长。海洋的诸如北美墨西哥湾离岸水域等死亡区正随着全球暖化和因农耕和污水所导致的氮溢流的增加而在扩大。海洋死亡区的扩大对渔业和海洋碳汇的形成具有重要的影响。然而人们对促成其化学反应的该区域中的微生物却基本上不了解。
研究人员对British Columbia死亡区的基因学取样发现了一种大量存在的微生物，它与深海蛤蜊和贻贝腮中的从化学反应获取其能量的细菌相似。该死亡区中的微生物的多种特殊性中还包括其携带着有助于碳截留及硫脱毒的基因。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推荐原始出处：
Science 23 October 2009:DOI: 10.1126/science.1175309
Metagenome of a Versatile Chemolithoautotroph from Expanding Oceanic Dead Zones
David A. Walsh,1 Elena Zaikova,1 Charles G. Howes,1 Young C. Song,1 Jody J. Wright,1 Susannah G. Tringe,2 Philippe D. Tortell,3,4 Steven J. Hallam1,5,*
Oxygen minimum zones, also known as oceanic "dead zones," are widespread oceanographic features currently expanding because of global warming. Although inhospitable to metazoan life, they support a cryptic microbiota whose metabolic activities affect nutrient and trace gas cycling within the global ocean. Here, we report metagenomic analyses of a ubiquitous and abundant but uncultivated oxygen minimum zone microbe (SUP05) related to chemoautotrophic gill symbionts of deep-sea clams and mussels. The SUP05 metagenome harbors a versatile repertoire of genes mediating autotrophic carbon assimilation, sulfur oxidation, and nitrate respiration responsive to a wide range of water-column redox states. Our analysis provides a genomic foundation for understanding the ecological and biogeochemical role of pelagic SUP05 in oxygen-deficient oceanic waters and its potential sensitivity to environmental changes.
1 Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada.
2 Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Walnut Creek, CA 94598, USA.
3 Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada.
4 Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada.
5 University of British Columbia Graduate Program in Bioinformatics, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada.
