Diverse microbiome functions, limited temporal variation and substantial genomic conservation within sedimentary and granite rock deep underground research laboratories.

Background: Underground research laboratories (URLs) provide a window on the deep biosphere and enable investigation of potential microbial impacts on nuclear waste, CO and H stored in the subsurface. We carried out the first multi-year study of groundwater microbiomes sampled from defined intervals between 140 and 400 m below the surface of the Horonobe and Mizunami URLs, Japan.

Results: We reconstructed draft genomes for > 90% of all organisms detected over a four year period.

Anaerobic methane-oxidizing activity in a deep underground borehole dominantly colonized by Ca. Methanoperedenaceae.

The family Ca. Methanoperedenaceae archaea mediates the anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) in different terrestrial environments. Using a newly developed high-pressure laboratory incubation system, we investigated 214- and 249-m deep groundwater samples at Horonobe Underground Research Laboratory, Japan, where the high and low abundances of Ca.