phylogenetic analysis Archives

NCLDV community composition across geographically-distinct hydrothermal vents. t-SNE (t-Distributed Stochastic Neighbor Embedding) ordination plot based on the normalized Q2Q3 coverages of 279 NCLDV contigs across reads from 6 geographically-distinct vent locations. The interquartile coverage of each NCLDV contig was normalized to the lowest library size of metagenomic samples. Each dot represents one metagenomic sample and the color of the dot indicates the vent location. Parentheses indicate the type of vent environment: d (diffuse fluid), h (hydrothermal fluid), p (plume), sed (sediment), and s (sulfide deposit) -- biorxiv.org

The Biogeography Of Hydrothermal Vent Giant Viruses Across Earth’s Global Ocean

by Keith CowingOctober 25, 2026October 25, 2026

[biorxiv.org] Viruses are the most abundant known biological entities in the ocean and play central role in microbial ecology. However, the patterns and drivers of their biogeographic distribution across global […]

The Rozel tar seeps examined in this study, described in Table 1. Big seep is shown in the left panel, Volcano seep in the middle, and Entrapment seep on the right. The red circles show the remains of pelicans, which can be used for visual scale; American White Pelicans are 127–165 cm long with a wingspan range of 244–290 cm (Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 2025). Drone image credit: Utah Department of Natural Resources. -- Frontiers in Microbiology

Biosignatures & Paleobiology

Biosignature Reservoirs In The Rozel Point Tar Seeps At Great Salt Lake, Utah

by Keith CowingAugust 10, 2026August 10, 2026

[Frontiers in Microbiology] On the north shore of Great Salt Lake, Utah, USA, naturally occurring tar seeps at Rozel Point provide an opportunity to study a petroleum-rich environment adjacent to […]