Dominance of epiphytic filamentous Thiothrix spp. on an aquatic macrophyte in a hydrothermal vent flume in Sedge Bay, Yellowstone Lake, Wyoming.
Sublacustrine hydrothermal vents, geysers, and fumaroles impart regions of Yellowstone Lake with distinctive chemical compositions that generate unique freshwater habitats and support diverse microbial life. Some microbial communities within Sedge Bay manifest themselves as accumulations of white-colored films on the surfaces of aquatic macrophytes located within the hydrothermal flow of vents. It was hypothesized that the white films were the product of microbial growth, particularly sulfur-oxidizing bacteria. An investigation of the relevant biological compounds in the vent waters was conducted. Microscopy, non-culture molecular techniques, and phylogenetic analysis were used to assay the bacterial diversity associated with the films. Microscopic analysis of the white films revealed the presence of long filaments (>200 μm) that contained sulfur granules. Filaments with these characteristics were not detected on the normal macrophyte samples. Nucleic acids were extracted from the surface of macrophyte coated with the white film (SB1, SB2) and from the surface of an uncoated macrophyte (SC). 16S ribosomal (rRNA) genes were amplified with the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and cloned. Amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis (ARDRA) was used to examine 100 clones from each library and identify unique phylotypes. S(Chao1) and the Shannon Index, mathematical measures of richness and heterogeneity, were employed to assess the ARDRA pattern diversity of each sample. The SC community contained 50 unique phylotypes, predominantly cyanobacteria and proteobacteria, and was the most heterogeneous. SB1 and SB2 communities were less heterogeneous and dominated by Thiothrix. Dilution to extinction PCR conducted with specific primers indicated that the relative abundance of Thiothrix 16S rRNA gene copies in all three samples were similar. However, reduced sulfur compounds from the vent resulted in a more narrow habitat that supported the sulfur-oxidizing Thiothrix in the white film to the exclusion of cyanobacteria and other proteobacteria found on the normal macrophyte. The majority of 16S rRNA gene sequences obtained in this study displayed similarities ≤98% to any known sequence in public data bases which suggests an abundance of new bacterial species in Sedge Bay.
Konkol
Nick R
NR
Department of Biological Sciences, Marquette University, P.O. Box 1881, Milwaukee, WI 53201-1881, USA.
Bruckner
James C
JC
Aguilar
Carmen
C
Lovalvo
David
D
Maki
James S
JS
D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D017753:Ecosystem; D005618:Fresh Water; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D019684:Magnoliopsida / Q000382:microbiology*; D010802:Phylogeny; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013455:Sulfur / Q000032:analysis; D053525:Thiothrix / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry; D014871:Water Microbiology; D014959:Wyoming
D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D014867:Water; D013455:Sulfur
Science. 1977 Jan 14;195(4274):179-80
17844038
Int J Syst Bacteriol. 1999 Oct;49 Pt 4:1817-27
10555365
Biotechniques. 2001 Sep;31(3):598, 600, 602-4, passim
11570503
ISME J. 2008 Jun;2(6):590-601
18356823
Ann Bot. 2005 Sep;96(4):625-38
16093271
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1995 Aug 1;92(16):7232-6
7543678
Arch Microbiol. 1994 Jan;161(1):62-9
11541228
FEMS Microbiol Lett. 2006 Mar;256(1):22-9
16487315
Environ Microbiol. 2000 Aug;2(4):389-98
11234927
Appl Environ Microbiol. 1998 Sep;64(9):3491-5
9726902
Microb Ecol. 2005 Aug;50(2):172-84
16211325
ISME J. 2009 Aug;3(8):935-43
19360027
Nucleic Acids Res. 2000 Jan 1;28(1):173-4
10592216
Appl Environ Microbiol. 2006 Aug;72(8):5596-609
16885314
Bioinformatics. 2004 Sep 22;20(14):2317-9
15073015
Appl Environ Microbiol. 2006 Sep;72(9):6257-70
16957253
Plant Physiol. 1989 Aug;90(4):1249-51
16666916
Appl Environ Microbiol. 2001 Apr;67(4):1922-34
11282650
Annu Rev Microbiol. 1983;37:341-67
6357055
Int J Syst Evol Microbiol. 2003 Sep;53(Pt 5):1271-1276
13130005
BMC Microbiol. 2008 Apr 10;8:58
18402668
Nucleic Acids Res. 1997 Sep 1;25(17):3389-402
9254694
J Bacteriol. 1991 Jul;173(14):4371-8
2066334
Nucleic Acids Res. 1994 Nov 11;22(22):4673-80
7984417
Appl Environ Microbiol. 2003 Sep;69(9):5503-11
12957939