Physiological trade-offs drive the archaeal dominance and carbon turnover in deep subsurface
Jialin Hou, Lewen Liang, Liuyang Li, Weikang Sui, Liang Dong, Longhui Deng, Haining Hu, Zijun Wu, Lin Zhang, Orit Sivan, James Andrew Bradley, Fang Wang
The paper shows archaea, specifically Bathyarchaeia, dominate deep sediments by prioritizing maintenance over growth, leading to long-term organic carbon preservation.
bioRxiv · May 21, 2026 · PreprintMicrobiology