The chemosynthetic microbiome of deep-sea hydrothermal vents across space and time

Microbial biofilms colonize mineral and biological substrates exposed to fluid circulation at deep-sea hydrothermal vents, providing a biologically active interface along redox boundaries. Since many biofilms at deep-sea vents are associated with invertebrates, microbial distribution and abundance are not only constrained by local fluid geochemistry, but also through host-microbe interactions. In this study, we examined the spatial distribution and diversity of established microbial biofilm communities collected from three distinct biological regimes characteristic of the East Pacific Rise vent system, as well as newly established biofilms.