Together in darkness - Microbial interactions in the earth's crust

VAAM-Forschungspreis 2020: The terrestrial subsurface houses about one third of Earth’s bacteria and archaea, yet little is known about ecosystem structure and interaction of microorganisms in the deep biosphere. In recent studies we tackled this knowledge gap by using cold-water geysers as model systems with high microbial activity. Scavenging biomolecules by symbiotic Archaea and Bacteria functions as a carbon sink in these ecosystems and creates complex nutrient networks that we are only at the beginning of understanding. © 2020, Der Autor.