Methane-oxidizing archaea from deep-sea sediments. marine sediment metagenome

Samples at deep sea sites were sequenced in order to understand anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM), which is estimated to consume a vast quantity of methane annually. It was assumed that a consortia of microbes, consisting of archaeal and sulfate-reducing bacteria, couple methane oxidation to sulfate reduction. Methanotrophs produce carbon dioxide from methane, and the end products are metabolized by the sulfate-reducing bacteria. Samples were taken at deep-sea methane seeps at Eel River Basin near Mendocino, California. A number of sequences were obtained, but the initial deposit of sequences only includes GenBank Accessions AY714814-AY714873. Sequence coverage and GC-content were used to assemble organismal bins, which resulted in one dominant organism, ANME-1 (see below). Genes that were involved in reverse-methanogenesis were found associated mostly with one group of bacteria, ANME-1 (anaerobic methane-oxidizing Archaea), although some were found in ANME-2.