Conspicuous Smooth and White Egg-Shaped Sulfur Structures on a Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vent Formed by Sulfide-Oxidizing Bacteria.

ABSTRACT: Conspicuous egg-shaped, white, and smooth structures were observed at a hydrothermal vent site in the Guaymas Basin, Gulf of California. The gelatinous structures decomposed within hours after sampling. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and light microscopy showed that the structure consisted of filaments of less than 0.1 μm thickness, similar to those observed for "Candidatus Arcobacter sulfidicus." SEM-energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) showed that the filaments were sulfur rich. According to 16S rRNA gene amplicon and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analyses, Arcobacter, a sulfide oxidizer that is known to produce filamentous elemental sulfur, was among the dominant species in the structure and was likely responsible for its formation. Arcobact

SUBMITTER: van Erk MR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8557937 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature