The Mariana Trench (MT) is known the deepest part of the ocean on Earth.However, the metabolic features and adaptation strategies of the microorganisms in the MT are poorly understood, especially forthe microbial nitrogen cycling processes.

On June 28, 2024,Prof. Meng Li's groupfromShenzhen University published a research article entitled“Distinct microbial nitrogen cycling processes in the deepest part of the ocean” in thejournal mSystems.

In this study, comparative metagenomicapproacheswere used to investigate the microbial nitrogen cycling in the MT sediments and seawater.The results showed that fives newnitrite oxidizing bacterialineages are present, and anammox bacteria might be capable of aerobic respiration in the MT sediments, while the alkane-degrading bacteria have potential for nitrogen fixation in the MT seawater. These findings expand our understanding of the microbiallifein response to extreme environment.

Figure 1:Schematic representation of the microbial nitrogen cycling processes in the MT sediment and seawater

Prof. Meng Liis the corresponding author, and Ph.D student Yuhan Huangandassistant professor Xinxu Zhang are the co-fist authors. The work is support by the grants from theNational Natural Science Foundation of China.

Publication link：https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/msystems.00243-24