New Microbial Lineages Capable of Carbon Fixation and Nutrient Cycling in Deep-Sea Sediments of the Northern South China Sea

Abstract

Sedimentary microorganisms in the South China Sea (SCS) remain largely unknown due to the complexity of sediment communities impacted by continent rifting and extension. Distinct geochemical environments may breed special microbial communities including microbes that are still enigmatic. Functional inference of their metabolisms and transcriptional activity provides insight in the ecological roles and substrate-based interactivity of these uncultured Archaea and Bacteria . These microorganisms play different roles in utilizing inorganic carbon and scavenging diverse organic compounds involved in the deep-sea carbon cycle. The genomes recovered here contributed undescribed species to the tree of life and laid the foundation for future study on these novel phyla persisting in marginal sediments of the SCS.