Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Site Tools

  • AAAS
  • Subscribe
  • Feedback

Site Search

Search Advanced

Science 20 October 1995:
Vol. 270. no. 5235, pp. 450 - 455
DOI: 10.1126/science.270.5235.450
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Reports

Lithoautotrophic Microbial Ecosystems in Deep Basalt Aquifers

Todd O. Stevens (1) and James P. McKinley

Bacterial communities were detected in deep crystalline rock aquifers within the Columbia River Basalt Group (CRB). CRB ground waters contained up to 60 µM dissolved H(2) and autotrophic microorganisms outnumbered heterotrophs. Stable carbon isotope measurements implied that autotrophic methanogenesis dominated this ecosystem and was coupled to the depletion of dissolved inorganic carbon. In laboratory experiments, H(2), a potential energy source for bacteria, was produced by reactions between crushed basalt and anaerobic water. Microcosms containing only crushed basalt and ground water supported microbial growth. These results suggest that the CRB contains a lithoautotrophic microbial ecosystem that is independent of photosynthetic primary production.


Pacific Northwest Laboratory, Post Office Box 999, Richland, WA 99352, USA. E-mail: to_stevens{at}pnl.gov or jp_mckinley{at}pnl.gov
(1) To whom correspondence should be addressed.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Biomineralization associated with microbial reduction of Fe3+ and oxidation of Fe2+ in solid minerals.
G. Zhang, H. Dong, H. Jiang, R. K. Kukkadapu, J. Kim, D. Eberl, and Z. Xu (2009)
American Mineralogist 94, 1049-1058
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Ichnotaxonomy of microbial trace fossils in volcanic glass.
N. McLoughlin, H. Furnes, N.R. Banerjee, K. Muehlenbachs, and H. Staudigel (2009)
Journal of the Geological Society 166, 159-169
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Subsurface Microbial Diversity in Deep-Granitic-Fracture Water in Colorado.
J. W. Sahl, R. Schmidt, E. D. Swanner, K. W. Mandernack, A. S. Templeton, T. L. Kieft, R. L. Smith, W. E. Sanford, R. L. Callaghan, J. B. Mitton, et al. (2008)
Appl. Envir. Microbiol. 74, 143-152
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Hydrogen symbioses in evolution and disease.
A.C. Williams and D.B. Ramsden (2007)
QJM 100, 451-459
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Long-term sustainability of a high-energy, low-diversity crustal biome..
L.-H. Lin, P.-L. Wang, D. Rumble, J. Lippmann-Pipke, E. Boice, L. M. Pratt, B. S. Lollar, E. L. Brodie, T. C. Hazen, G. L. Andersen, et al. (2006)
Science 314, 479-482
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Heterotrophic Archaea dominate sedimentary subsurface ecosystems off Peru.
J. F. Biddle, J. S. Lipp, M. A. Lever, K. G. Lloyd, K. B. Sorensen, R. Anderson, H. F. Fredricks, M. Elvert, T. J. Kelly, D. P. Schrag, et al. (2006)
PNAS 103, 3846-3851
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Desulfotomaculum and Methanobacterium spp. Dominate a 4- to 5-Kilometer-Deep Fault.
D. P. Moser, T. M. Gihring, F. J. Brockman, J. K. Fredrickson, D. L. Balkwill, M. E. Dollhopf, B. S. Lollar, L. M. Pratt, E. Boice, G. Southam, et al. (2005)
Appl. Envir. Microbiol. 71, 8773-8783
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Hydrogen and energy flow as "sensed" by molecular genetics.
K. H. Nealson (2005)
PNAS 102, 3889-3890
   Full Text »    PDF »
From The Cover: Hydrogen and bioenergetics in the Yellowstone geothermal ecosystem.
J. R. Spear, J. J. Walker, T. M. McCollom, and N. R. Pace (2005)
PNAS 102, 2555-2560
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Detection of Methane in the Atmosphere of Mars.
V. Formisano, S. Atreya, T. Encrenaz, N. Ignatiev, and M. Giuranna (2004)
Science 306, 1758-1761
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Temperature dependence of metabolic rates for microbial growth, maintenance, and survival.
P. B. Price and T. Sowers (2004)
PNAS 101, 4631-4636
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Radioisotopic, Culture-Based, and Oligonucleotide Microchip Analyses of Thermophilic Microbial Communities in a Continental High-Temperature Petroleum Reservoir.
E. A. Bonch-Osmolovskaya, M. L. Miroshnichenko, A. V. Lebedinsky, N. A. Chernyh, T. N. Nazina, V. S. Ivoilov, S. S. Belyaev, E. S. Boulygina, Y. P. Lysov, A. N. Perov, et al. (2003)
Appl. Envir. Microbiol. 69, 6143-6151
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Isotopic composition of gypsum in the Macquarie Island ophiolite: Implications for the sulfur cycle and the subsurface biosphere in oceanic crust.
J. C. Alt, G. J. Davidson, D. A.H. Teagle, and J. A. Karson (2003)
Geology 31, 549-552
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Microvirga subterranea gen. nov., sp. nov., a moderate thermophile from a deep subsurface Australian thermal aquifer.
S. Kanso and B. K. C. Patel (2003)
Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 53, 401-406
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Hydrocarbon occurrence and exploration in and around igneous rocks.
S. R. Schutter (2003)
Geological Society, London, Special Publications 214, 7-33
   Abstract »    PDF »
Subsurface CO2 Disposal with Enhanced Gas Recovery and Biogeochemical Carbon Recycling.
H. Koide, H. Koide, and K. Yamazaki (2001)
Environmental Geosciences 8, 218-224
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Phylogenetic Diversity Analysis of Subterranean Hot Springs in Iceland.
V. T. Marteinsson, S. Hauksdottir, C. F. V. Hobel, H. Kristmannsdottir, G. O. Hreggvidsson, and J. K. Kristjansson (2001)
Appl. Envir. Microbiol. 67, 4242-4248
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Isolation and Characterization of Strains CVO and FWKO B, Two Novel Nitrate-Reducing, Sulfide-Oxidizing Bacteria Isolated from Oil Field Brine.
D. Gevertz, A. J. Telang, G. Voordouw, and G. E. Jenneman (2000)
Appl. Envir. Microbiol. 66, 2491-2501
   Abstract »    Full Text »
Functional Exoenzymes as Indicators of Metabolically Active Bacteria in 124,000-Year-Old Sapropel Layers of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.
M. J. L. Coolen and J. Overmann (2000)
Appl. Envir. Microbiol. 66, 2589-2598
   Abstract »    Full Text »
Molecular Phylogenetic Analysis of Archaeal Intron-Containing Genes Coding for rRNA Obtained from a Deep-Subsurface Geothermal Water Pool.
K. Takai and K. Horikoshi (1999)
Appl. Envir. Microbiol. 65, 5586-5589
   Abstract »    Full Text »
Biological impact on mineral dissolution: Application of the lichen model to understanding mineral weathering in the rhizosphere.
J. F. Banfield, W. W. Barker, S. A. Welch, and A. Taunton (1999)
PNAS 96, 3404-3411
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Evidence Against Hydrogen-Based Microbial Ecosystems in Basalt Aquifers.
R. T. Anderson, F. H. Chapelle, and D. R. Lovley (1998)
Science 281, 976-977
   Abstract »    Full Text »
Alteration of Oceanic Volcanic Glass: Textural Evidence of Microbial Activity.
M. R. Fisk, S. J. Giovannoni, and I. H. Thorseth (1998)
Science 281, 978-980
   Abstract »    Full Text »
A Molecular View of Microbial Diversity and the Biosphere.
N. R. Pace (1997)
Science 276, 734-740
   Abstract »    Full Text »
Atmospheric energy for subsurface life on Mars?.
B. P. Weiss, Y. L. Yung, and K. H. Nealson (2000)
PNAS 97, 1395-1399
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »


To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)