Bathyarchaeia Archives

Conceptual framework of vertically stratified carbon cycling and microbial succession driven by physiological trade-offs in shelf sediments. Organic carbon (OC) reactivity and microbial community structure undergo profound transitions with sediment depth. In surface sediments, Bacteria (blue) drive a transient mineralization hotspot by rapidly consuming labile OC, whereas Archaea (pink) dictate the long-term fate and reactivity of the buried recalcitrant OC pool over geological timescales. These transition of OC degradation and microbial succession are underpinned by fundamental physiological trade-offs: whereas Bacteria prioritize rapid growth (G) with high energy investment near the surface, Archaea, primarily Bathyarchaeia, allocate more energy toward maintenance (M) and adaptation (A) by minimizing their growth rates in the deep subsurface. -- biorxiv.org

Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Status Report

Physiological Trade-offs Drive The archaeal Dominance And Carbon Turnover In Deep Subsurface

by Keith CowingMay 25, 2026May 25, 2026

Marine sediments host a vast deep biosphere, yet how microorganisms persist under severe energy limitation and govern long-term organic carbon (OC) preservation remains poorly understood.

Bathyarchaeia

Physiological Trade-offs Drive The archaeal Dominance And Carbon Turnover In Deep Subsurface

Astrobiologist Dale Andersen’s Antarctic Field Report: 14 November 2026: Setting Up Lab and Dive Tents

COP31 Ice Planet Update: Earth’s Cryosphere Decline Is Beyond Safe Planetary Limits

Possible Lake Remnants Inside a Crater at the Edge of Isidis Planitia, Mars

Seven Genome Sequences Of Bacterial Environmental Isolates From The Western Coast Of The Greenland Ice Sheet

Cosmic-ray Particles Can Help Probe The Powerful Electric Fields Inside Earth’s Thunderstorms