Fumarolic ice cave sediment Metagenome

A metagenome from fumarole sediments sampled from Warren Cave, Antarctica. Warren Cave is an ice cave on Mt. Erebus Volcano. These sediments were sampled from deep within the dark cave where there is no known source of introduced organic carbon. Dark ice caves such as Warren Cave exemplify an environment where the input of plant and other photosynthetic-derived organic carbon is minimal and thus provides an environment at the extreme low end of the spectrum for carbon concentration. Under these conditions microbes will be forced to scavenge any and all energy sources available, including gases and inorganic compounds found in the rock.