Biology Commons^™

A Metagenomic Analysis Of The Microbial Communities Associated With Different Hydrothermal Vent Chimneys, Laura Murray

WWU Graduate School Collection

Hydrothermal vents host a diverse community of microorganisms that utilize chemical gradients from the venting fluid for their metabolisms. The venting fluid can solidify to form chimney structures that these microbes adhere to and colonize. These chimney structures are found throughout many different locations in the world’s oceans. In this study, comparative metagenomic analyses of microbial communities on five chimney structures from around the Pacific Ocean were elucidated focusing on the core taxa and genes that are characteristic for each of these hydrothermal vent chimneys, as well as highlighting differences among the taxa and genes found at each chimney due …