Intra-field variability in microbial community associated with phase-separation-controlled hydrothermal fluid chemistry in the Mariner field, the southern Lau Basin

A newly discovered hydrothermal field called the Mariner field at the northernmost central Valu Fa Ridge (VFR) in the Lau Basin was explored and characterized by geochemical and microbiological surveys. The hydrothermal fluid (max. 365 u^C) emitting from the most vigorous vent site (Snow chimney) was boiling just beneath the seafloor at a water depth of 1908 m and two end-members of hydrothermal fluid were identified. Mineral and fluid chemistry of typical brine-rich (Snow chimney and Monk chimney) and vapor-rich (Crab Restaurant chimney) hydrothermal fluids and the host chimney structures were analyzed. Microbial community structures in three chimney structures were also investigated by culture-dependent and - independent analyses. The 16S rRNA gene clone analysis revealed that both bacterial and archaeal rRNA gene communities at the chimney surface zones were different among three chimneys. The bacterial and archaeal rRNA gene communities of the Snow chimney surface were very similar with those in the dead chimneys, suggesting concurrence of metal sulfide deposition at the inside and weathering at the surface potentially due to its large structure and size. Cultivation analysis demonstrated the significant variation in culturability of various microbial components, particularly of thermophilic H2- and/or S-oxidizing chemolithoautotrophs such as the genera Aquifex and Persephonella, among the chimney sites. The culturability of these chemolithoautotrophs might be associated with the input of gaseous energy and carbon sources like H2S, H2 and CH4 from the hydrothermal fluids, and might be affected by phase-separation- controlled fluid chemistry. In addition, inter-fields comparison of microbial community structures determined by cultivation analysis revealed novel characteristics of the microbial communities in the Mariner field of the Lau Basin among the global deep-sea hydrothermal systems.