Temporal variation and lack of host specificity among bacterial endosymbionts of Osedax bone worms (Polychaeta: Siboglinidae).

ABSTRACT:

Background

Osedax worms use a proliferative root system to extract nutrients from the bones of sunken vertebrate carcasses. The roots contain bacterial endosymbionts that contribute to the nutrition of these mouthless and gutless worms. The worms acquire these essential endosymbionts locally from the environment in which their larvae settle. Here we report on the temporal dynamics of endosymbiont diversity hosted by nine Osedax species sampled during a three-year investigation of an experimental whale fall at 1820-m depth in the Monterey Bay, California. The host species were identified by their unique mitochondrial COI haplotypes. The endosymbionts were identified by ribotyping with PCR primers specifically designed to target Oceanospirillales.

Results

Thirty-two endosymbio

SUBMITTER: Salathe RM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3551747 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature