Microsporidia-nematode associations in methane seeps reveal basal fungal parasitism in the deep sea.

ABSTRACT: The deep sea is Earth's largest habitat but little is known about the nature of deep-sea parasitism. In contrast to a few characterized cases of bacterial and protistan parasites, the existence and biological significance of deep-sea parasitic fungi is yet to be understood. Here we report the discovery of a fungus-related parasitic microsporidium, Nematocenator marisprofundi n. gen. n. sp. that infects benthic nematodes at methane seeps on the Pacific Ocean floor. This infection is species-specific and has been temporally and spatially stable over 2 years of sampling, indicating an ecologically consistent host-parasite interaction. A high distribution of spores in the reproductive tracts of infected males and females and their absence from host nematodes' intestines suggests a sexual trans

SUBMITTER: Sapir A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3918590 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature