Metagenomic Studies of Deep-sea hydrothermal vent associated microbial community

This study has a special attention to analyze the holistic functional structures and characteristics of microbiota directly associated with deep-sea hydrothermal vents in comparison with that in the global ocean water, using a metagenomic approach. In specific, the applicability of the microbial dispersal hypothesis – 'Ocean Seed Bank' or 'Everything is everywhere' to hydrothermal vent systems are evaluated in a functional aspect.