Investigation of free-living stages of Bathymodiolus symbionts in metagenomes from in-situ filtered water samples from deep-sea hydrothermal vents
In our study, we analysed in-situ filtered seawater samples from seven vent sites along the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge. We used phylogenetic analyses and screened for small ribosomal subunits and marker genes to resolve the diversity of free-living bacteria surrounding the mussels and the geographic distribution of different symbiont subspecies in the water column.