Manganese-Cycling Microbial Communities Inside Deep-Sea Manganese Nodules

Polymetallic nodules (manganese nodules) have been formed on deep sea sediments over millions of years and are currently explored for their economic potential, particularly for cobalt, nickel, copper, and manganese. Here we explored microbial communities inside nodules from the northeastern equatorial Pacific. The nodules have a large connected pore space with a huge inner surface of 120 m2/g as analyzed by computer tomography and BET measurements. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and electron microprobe analysis revealed a complex chemical fine structure. This consisted of layers with highly variable Mn/Fe ratios ( 500) and mainly of turbostratic phyllomanganates such as 7 and 10 A vernadites alternating with layers of Fe-bearing vernadite (δ-MnO2) epitaxially intergrown with amorphous feroxyhyte (δ-FeOOH). Using molecular 16S rRNA gene techniques (clone libraries, pyrosequencing, and real-time PCR), we show that polymetallic nodules provide a suitable habitat for prokaryotes with an abundant...