Bahamian Thrombolite metatranscriptome Transcriptome or Gene expression

Microbialites are sedimentary deposits formed by the metabolic interactions of microbes and their environment. These ecosystems are among the oldest on Earth, however the underlying molecular mechanisms are poorly understood. In this study we use comparative metatranscriptomic analyses to characterize the spatial organization of the thrombolites of Highborne Cay, The Bahamas, which are actively forming microbialite systems. This study represents the metatranscriptome of living microbialite which offers new perspective on those microbial metabolisms and processes that influence the mechanisms of carbonate precipitation in lithifying microbial mat ecosystems.