TY - SER ID - inagaki2015iesd T1 - IODP Expedition 337, Shimokita Deep Coalbed Biosphere AU - Inagaki, F AU - Hinrichs, Kai-Uwe AU - Kubo, Y AU - Bowles, Marshall W AU - Heuer, Verena B AU - Hong, W-L AU - Hoshino, Tatsuhiko AU - Ijiri, Akira AU - Imachi, H AU - Ito, M AU - Kaneko, Masanori AU - Lever, Mark A AU - Lin, Yu-Shih AU - Methe, B A AU - Morita, S AU - Morono, Yuki AU - Tanikawa, Wataru AU - Bihan, M AU - Bowden, Stephen A AU - Elvert, Marcus AU - Glombitza, Clemens AU - Gross, D AU - Harrington, G J AU - Hori, T AU - Li, K AU - Limmer, D AU - Liu, Chiung-Hui AU - Murayama, M AU - Ohkouchi, Naohiko AU - Ono, Shuhei AU - Park, Young-Soo AU - Phillips, S C AU - Prieto-Mollar, Xavier AU - Purkey, M AU - Riedinger, Natascha AU - Sanada, Yoshinori AU - Sauvage, J AU - Snyder, Glen T AU - Susilawati, R AU - Takano, Yoshinori AU - Tasumi, E AU - Terada, Takeshi AU - Tomaru, Hitoshi AU - Trembath-Reichert, E AU - Wang, D T AU - Yamada, Y PY - 2015/05/06/ T2 - Supplement to: Inagaki, F et al. (2015): Exploring deep microbial life in coal-bearing sediment down to ~2.5 km below the ocean floor. Science, 439 (6246), 420-424, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaa6882 PB - PANGAEA DO - 10.1594/PANGAEA.845984 UR - https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.845984 N2 - Microbial life inhabits deeply buried marine sediments, but the extent of this vast ecosystem remains poorly constrained. Here we provide evidence for the existence of microbial communities in ~40° to 60°C sediment associated with lignite coal beds at ~1.5 to 2.5 km below the seafloor in the Pacific Ocean off Japan. Microbial methanogenesis was indicated by the isotopic compositions of methane and carbon dioxide, biomarkers, cultivation data, and gas compositions. Concentrations of indigenous microbial cells below 1.5 km ranged from <10 to ~10**4 cells cm**-3. Peak concentrations occurred in lignite layers, where communities differed markedly from shallower subseafloor communities and instead resembled organotrophic communities in forest soils. This suggests that terrigenous sediments retain indigenous community members tens of millions of years after burial in the seabed. ER -