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Bacterial and archaeal communities in sediments obtained from three geographically-distant mud volcanoes, a control site and a microbial mat in the Eastern Mediterranean deep-sea were characterized using direct 16S rRNA gene analyses. The data were thus in relation to the chemical characteristics of the (stratified) habitats to infer community structure-habitat relationships. The bacterial sequences in the different habitats were related to those of Actinobacteria, Bacilli, Chloroflexi, Alpha-, Beta-, Gamma-, Delta- and Epsilonproteobacteria and unclassified bacteria, including the JS1 group. The archaeal sequences found were affiliated with those of the Methanosarcinales, Thermoplasmales, Halobacteriales and Crenarchaea belonging to marine benthic group I and B, as well as MCG group archaea. In each sample, the communities were diverse and unique at the phylotype level. However, at higher taxonomic levels, similar groups were found in different sediments, and similar depth layers tended to contain similar communities. The sequences that dominated in all top layers (as well as in the mat) probably represented organisms involved in aerobic heterotrophy, sulfide-based chemoautotrophy and methanotrophy and/or methylotrophy. Sequences of organisms most likely involved in anaerobic methane oxidation, sulfate reduction and anaerobic heterotrophy were predominantly found in deeper layers. The data supported the notion of (1) uniqueness of each habitat at fine taxonomic levels, (2) stratification in depth and (3) conservation of function in the sediments.

This study provides data on the diversities of bacterial and archaeal communities in an active methane seep at the Kazan mud volcano in the deep Eastern Mediterranean sea. Layers of varying depths in the Kazan sediments were investigated in terms of (1) chemical parameters and (2) DNA-based microbial population structures. The latter was accomplished by analyzing the sequences of directly amplified 16S rRNA genes, resulting in the phylogenetic analysis of the prokaryotic communities. Sequences of organisms potentially associated with processes such as anaerobic methane oxidation and sulfate reduction were thus identified. Overall, the sediment layers revealed the presence of sequences of quite diverse bacterial and archaeal communities, which varied considerably with depth. Dominant types revealed in these communities are known as key organisms involved in the following processes: (1) anaerobic methane oxidation and sulfate reduction, (2) sulfide oxidation, and (3) a range of (aerobic) heterotrophic processes. In the communities in the lowest sediment layer sampled (22-34 cm), sulfate-reducing bacteria and archaea of the ANME-2 cluster (likely involved in anaerobic methane oxidation) were prevalent, whereas heterotrophic organisms abounded in the top sediment layer (0-6 cm). Communities in the middle layer (6-22 cm) contained organisms that could be linked to either of the aforementioned processes. We discuss how these phylogeny (sequence)-based findings can support the ongoing molecular work aimed at unraveling both the functioning and the functional diversities of the communities under study.