Project description:The goal of this study was to identify the key functions of the six main symbionts that are hosted in gills of the marine bivalve, Idas modiolaeformis, which lives at deep-sea hydrocarbon seeps and wood falls in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. These symbionts include the main autotrophic methane- and sulfur-oxidizing lineages (Methyloprofundus, Thioglobus, Thiodubillierella), as well as a Methylophagaceae methylotrophic autotroph, a flavobacterial degrader of complex polysaccharides Urechidicola and a Nitrincolaceae heterotroph that specializes in degradation of nitrogen-rich compounds such as peptides and nucleosides. Four I. modiolaeformis individuals were preserved in RNAlater following retrieval from a brine pool habitat in the Eastern Mediterranean at 1,150 m water depth (32° 13.4' N 34° 10.7' E), using a remotely-operated vehicle. RNAlater was discarded after 24 hours, and the specimens were kept at -80°C until DNA/RNA/protein co-extraction using the AllPrep DNA/RNA/Protein Mini Kit (Cat. No. 80004, Qiagen).
Project description:Bathymodiolus childressi is a species of deep-sea mussels found predominantly in the Gulf of Mexico. It colonizes cold seeps such as brine pool and oil seeps. The success of these animals in such environment is thought to be due to the symbiotic association of the mussel host with several species of bacteria. The aim of this study is to understand the role of the different partners involved in the symbiotic system using various “-omics” approaches. In addition to protein identification we used the mass spectrometry data generated and submitted with this project to derive the stable carbon isotope ratios for the different members of the symbiosis using the direct Protein-SIF method. The respective isotope pattern file and SIF computation files are included with this submission.
