Structure and spatial heterogeneity of a chemosynthesis-based deep-sea archaeal and bacterial communities in Western South Atlantic

In 2016 a methane-based chemosynthetic community was discovered in a cold-seep area in the Western South Atlantic Ocean (Southern Brazil). In this research project, we report an extensive investigation of microbial (bacterial and archaeal) communities from this ecosystem, employing a broad sample set, including three distinct geographic areas (A, C and E) across a depth gradient (up to 18 meters below the seafloor) related to the sulfate-methane transition zone (SMTZ). Microbial compositions were determined through the hypervariable V4 region of the 16S rRNA ribosomal gene.