Articles | Volume 22, issue 18
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-4885-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-4885-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
24 Sep 2025
Research article |
| 24 Sep 2025
| 24 Sep 2025
A niche for diverse cable bacteria in continental margin sediments overlain by oxygen-deficient waters
Department of Microbiology, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
Martijn Hermans
Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
Baltic Sea Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
Niels A. G. M. van Helmond
Department of Microbiology, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
Silke Severmann
Department of Marine and Coastal Science, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA
James McManus
Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, East Boothbay, ME, USA
Marit R. van Erk
Department of Microbiology, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
Sairah Malkin
Horn Point Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES), Cambridge, USA
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Short summary
Cable bacteria couple the oxidation of sulfide at depth in sediments with the reduction in oxygen, nitrate, or nitrite near the sediment surface, thereby preventing the release of toxic hydrogen sulfide to the overlying water. We show evidence for a diversity of cable bacteria in sediments from hypoxic and anoxic basins along the continental margin of California and Mexico. Cable bacteria activity in this setting is likely to be periodic and dependent on the supply of organic matter and/or oxygen.
Cable bacteria couple the oxidation of sulfide at depth in sediments with the reduction in...
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