The Xiamen Symposium on Marine Environmental Sciences

2027 Xiamen Symposium on Marine Environmental Sciences

January 12-15, 2027

Redox Potential Gradients Shape Electroactive Microbiome and Metabolic Profiles of Deep-Sea Sediments
ID:1460 Poster Presentation

2027-01-15 17:30 (China Standard Time)

Session:Session 82 - Deep Ocean Microbiomes and Ecosystems⎯⎯Biodiversity and Ecological Processes in a Changing Climate

Abstract
  Redox gradients in marine sediments serve as a fundamental energetic driver for microbial electron transfer and elemental biogeochemical cycling. However, their ecological impacts are tightly coupled to substrate availability, mass transport processes, and sediment heterogeneity, posing substantial challenges for disentangling their independent effects under in situ conditions. In this study, sediment samples collected from three deep-sea stations in the Western Pacific Ocean were used as microbial inocula. Controlled artificial potential gradients were established via the application of external voltages of 0.3 V, 0.5 V, and 0.7 V to simulate redox differentiation in natural marine sediments. A multi-technical approach integrating real-time current monitoring, 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and untargeted metabolomics was employed to elucidate how artificial potential gradients modulate sedimentary electron transfer dynamics, microbial community assembly, and metabolic functional profiles. Nearly no detectable current was generated under the 0.3 V treatment, whereas sustained current production was observed at 0.5 V and 0.7 V, demonstrating a clear potential-dependent activation of sedimentary electron transfer processes. The redox gradients markedly reshaped the composition of bacterial communities and selectively enriched putative electroactive microbial taxa, including Arcobacter, Marinobacter, Shewanella, and Geoalkalibacter. In contrast, archaeal communities exhibited relatively high structural resistance to short-term electrochemical perturbations. The most pronounced metabolic shifts occurred during the transition from low to intermediate potential differences, primarily involving pathways associated with aromatic compound degradation, cofactor metabolism, amino acid metabolism, and nucleotide metabolism. Collectively, the sediment microbiome exhibited a staged state transition in response to externally imposed redox gradients in this experimental system. Specifically, increasing the applied voltage from 0.3 V to 0.5 V drove a pivotal community shift from a mode dominated by local substrate transformation to sustained electrode-coupled electron transfer. These findings demonstrate that sediment redox gradients function not only as environmental filters for microorganisms with specialized electron-transfer capabilities, but also as key regulators of electrode-associated spatial niche partitioning and metabolic resource allocation. Such gradient-dependent effects further modulate electron partitioning within sediment matrices and its coupling to elemental biogeochemical cycles. This study establishes a robust experimental framework for understanding the organizational mechanisms of sedimentary electron flow and its underlying biogeochemical implications in the natural sedimentary “biogeobattery” system.
 
Speaker
Huangxin Chen Shanghai Ocean University

Author
Huangxin Chen Shanghai Ocean University

    Important Dates

    • Jan 30

      2026

      Session / Event proposals open

    • Mar 31

      2026

      Session / Event proposals close
      (Extended to April 7)

    • Apr 30

      2026

      Session acceptance notifications

    • Apr 30

      2026

      Abstract submissions & registration open

    • Jun 30

      2026

      Abstract submissions close
      (Extended to July 21)

    • Aug 31

      2026

      Abstract acceptance notifications

    • Sep 15

      2026

      Scientific program released

    • Oct 15

      2026

      Early bird registration closes

    • Jan 12–15

      2027

      XMAS 2027