Filamentous bacteria inhabiting the sheaths of marine Thioploca spp. on the Chilean continental shelf.
A new component of the benthic Thioploca mat microbial ecosystem on the Chilean continental shelf was detected by epifluorescence microscopy: filamentous, bacterial endobionts of 4-5-mum filament diameter and length sometimes exceeding 1 mm. These filaments were identified as growing within Thioploca sheaths located between the sediment surface and c. 5 cm depth. Their location coincided with maximal biomass and biovolume of Thioploca filaments in surficial sediments, and with maximal abundance and activity of sulfate-reducing bacterial populations near the sediment/water interface. FISH and environmental characteristics support the working hypothesis that these endobiont populations are members of the filamentous, sulfate-reducing bacterial genus Desulfonema. Found at several sampling stations over a decade-long interval (1994-2006), these populations appear to be a stable component of the Chilean Thioploca mat ecosystem.
Teske
Andreas
A
Department of Marine Sciences, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA. a.teske.p@merian.io-warnemuende.de
Jørgensen
Bo B
BB
Gallardo
Victor A
VA
D002677:Chile; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D020564:Deltaproteobacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D017753:Ecosystem; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000382:microbiology*; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D012329:RNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D012623:Seawater / Q000382:microbiology; D041962:Thiotrichaceae / Q000502:physiology*
D012329:RNA, Bacterial; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S