Pathways of carbon and energy metabolism of the epibiotic community associated with the deep-sea hydrothermal vent shrimp Rimicaris exoculata.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The shrimp Rimicaris exoculata dominates the faunal biomass at many deep-sea hydrothermal vent sites at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. In its enlarged gill chamber it harbors a specialized epibiotic bacterial community for which a nutritional role has been proposed.

Methodology/principal findings

We analyzed specimens from the Snake Pit hydrothermal vent field on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge by complementing a 16S rRNA gene survey with the analysis of genes involved in carbon, sulfur and hydrogen metabolism. In addition to Epsilon- and Gammaproteobacteria, the epibiotic community unexpectedly also consists of Deltaproteobacteria of a single phylotype, closely related to the genus Desulfocapsa. The association of these phylogenetic groups with the shrimp was confirmed by fluore

SUBMITTER: Hugler M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3017555 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature