@article {ISI:000361984700015,
	title = {{Comparison of Archaeal and Bacterial Diversity in Methane Seep Carbonate Nodules and Host Sediments, Eel River Basin and Hydrate Ridge, USA}},
	journal = {MICROBIAL ECOLOGY},
	volume = {70},
	number = {3},
	year = {2015},
	month = {oct},
	pages = {766{\textendash}784},
	type = {Article},
	abstract = {Anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) impacts carbon cycling by acting as a methane sink and by sequestering inorganic carbon via AOM-induced carbonate precipitation. These precipitates commonly take the form of carbonate nodules that form within methane seep sediments. The timing and sequence of nodule formation within methane seep sediments are not well understood. Further, the microbial diversity associated with sediment-hosted nodules has not been well characterized and the degree to which nodules reflect the microbial assemblage in surrounding sediments is unknown. Here, we conducted a comparative study of microbial assemblages in methane-derived authigenic carbonate nodules and their host sediments using molecular, mineralogical, and geochemical methods. Analysis of 16S rRNA gene diversity from paired carbonate nodules and sediments revealed that both sample types contained methanotrophic archaea (ANME-1 and ANME-2) and syntrophic sulfate-reducing bacteria (Desulfobacteraceae and Desulfobulbaceae), as well as other microbial community members. The combination of geochemical and molecular data from Eel River Basin and Hydrate Ridge suggested that some nodules formed in situ and captured the local sediment-hosted microbial community, while other nodules may have been translocated or may represent a record of conditions prior to the contemporary environment. Taken together, this comparative analysis offers clues to the formation regimes and mechanisms of sediment-hosted carbonate nodules.},
	keywords = {HOV Alvin (Human Occupied Vehicle)},
	issn = {0095-3628},
	doi = {10.1007/s00248-015-0615-6},
	author = {Mason, Olivia U and Case, David H and Naehr, Thomas H and Lee, Raymond W and Thomas, Randal B and Bailey, Jake V and Orphan, Victoria J}
}
@article {ISI:000331788900001,
	title = {{Microsporidia-nematode associations in methane seeps reveal basal fungal parasitism in the deep sea}},
	journal = {FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY},
	volume = {5},
	year = {2014},
	month = {feb},
	type = {Article},
	abstract = {The deep sea is Earth{\textquoteright}s largest habitat but little is known about the nature of deep-sea parasitism. In contrast to a few characterized cases of bacterial and protistan parasites, the existence and biological significance of deep-sea parasitic fungi is yet to be understood. Here we report the discovery of a fungus-related parasitic microsporidium, Nematocenator marisprofundi n. gen. n. sp. that infects benthic nematodes at methane seeps on the Pacific Ocean floor. This infection is species-specific and has been temporally and spatially stable over 2 years of sampling, indicating an ecologically consistent host-parasite interaction. A high distribution of spores in the reproductive tracts of infected males and females and their absence from host nematodes{\textquoteright} intestines suggests a sexual transmission strategy in contrast to the fecal-oral transmission of most microsporidia. N. mansprofundi targets the host{\textquoteright}s body wall muscles causing cell lysis, and in severe infection even muscle filament degradation. Phylogenetic analyses placed N. marisprofundi in a novel and basal clade not closely related to any described microsporidia clade, suggesting either that microsporidia-nematode parasitism occurred early in microsporidia evolution or that host specialization occurred late in an ancient deep-sea microsporidian lineage. Our findings reveal that methane seeps support complex ecosystems involving interkingdom interactions between bacteria, nematodes, and parasitic fungi and that microsporidia parasitism exists also in the deep-sea biosphere.},
	keywords = {HOV Alvin (Human Occupied Vehicle), ROV Jason (Remotely Operated Vehicle)},
	issn = {1664-302X},
	doi = {10.3389/fmicb.2014.00043},
	author = {Sapir, Amir and Dillman, Adler R and Connon, Stephanie A and Grupe, Benjamin M and Ingels, Jeroen and Mundo-Ocampo, Manuel and Levin, Lisa A and Baldwin, James G and Orphan, Victoria J and Sternberg, Paul W}
}
