Deep-sea hydrothermal vents are one of the premier locations for discovering a wide diversity of novel non-photosynthetic microorganisms capable of fixing carbon dioxide at the most extreme conditions within our biosphere. This project represents the first comprehensive metagenomic survey of hydrothermal vent microbial communities, in part to develop an extensive metagenomic database to enable the first global assessment of community functional potential, ecology and evolution at deep-sea hydrothermal vents. The database will provide an inventory of novel gene sequences that will aid research in renewable energy, carbon and heavy metal sequestration, and environmental remediation.
Principal Investigators: Peter Girguis, Harvard University
Program: CSP 2011