A phylogenetic analysis of microbial communities associated with methane hydrate containing marine fluids and sediments in the Cascadia margin (ODP site 892B)

Methane hydrates represent an enormous carbon and energy source in many low temperature deep marine sediments. However, little information is availabl e concerning the nature of the microbial communities associated with these structures. Here, we describe a phylogenetic analysis based on ribosomal DN A (rDNA) sequences obtained from sediment and fluid samples present in a re gion of gas hydrate formation in shallow sediments within the Cascadia marg in in and around Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 892B. Our studies detect ed diverse sulfur-utilizing microbes, methanogens, methanotrophs, and non-t hermophilic members of the kingdom Crenarchaeota. This is the first culture -independent phylogenetic analysis of a gas hydrate habitat. (C) 1999 Feder ation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.