A large, intact sulfide chimney, designated Finn, was recovered from the Mothra Vent Field on ... crobial biomass and diversity within the walls of vent chimneys.
Incidence and Diversity of Microorganisms within the Walls of an Active Deep-Sea Sulfide Chimney Matthew O. Schrenk,* Deborah S. Kelley, John R. Delaney, and John A. Baross School of Oceanography and Astrobiology Program, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195 Received 4 November 2002/Accepted 12 March 2003
A large, intact sulfide chimney, designated Finn, was recovered from the Mothra Vent Field on the Juan de Fuca Ridge in 1998. Finn was venting 302°C fluids on the seafloor and contained complex mineralogical zones surrounding a large open central conduit. Examination of microorganisms within these zones, followed by community analysis with oligonucleotide probes, showed that there were variations in the abundance and diversity of eubacteria and archaea from the exterior to the interior of the chimney. The microbial abundance based upon epifluorescence microscopy and quantitative fatty acid analyses varied from >108 cells/g of sulfide 2 to 10 cm within the chimney wall to
