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Diversity of Total Bacterial Communities and Chemoautotrophic Populations in Sulfur-Rich Sediments of Shallow-Water Hydrothermal Vents off Kueishan Island, Taiwan

  • Environmental Microbiology
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Abstract

Shallow-water hydrothermal vents (HTVs) are an ecologically important habitat with a geographic origin similar to that of deep-sea HTVs. Studies on shallow-water HTVs have not only facilitated understanding of the influences of vents on local ecosystems but also helped to extend the knowledge on deep-sea vents. In this study, the diversity of bacterial communities in the sediments of shallow-water HTVs off Kueishan Island, Taiwan, was investigated by examining the 16S ribosomal RNA gene as well as key functional genes involved in chemoautotrophic carbon fixation (aclB, cbbL and cbbM). In the vent area, Sulfurovum and Sulfurimonas of Epsilonproteobacteria appeared to dominate the benthic bacterial community. Results of aclB gene analysis also suggested involvement of these bacteria in carbon fixation using the reductive tricarboxylic acid (rTCA) cycle. Analysis of the cbbM gene showed that Alphaproteobacterial members such as the purple non-sulfur bacteria were the major chemoautotrophic bacteria involving in carbon fixation via the Calvin–Benson–Bassham (CBB) cycle. However, they only accounted for <2% of the total bacterial community in the vent area. These findings suggest that the rTCA cycle is the major chemoautotrophic carbon fixation pathway in sediments of the shallow-water HTVs off Kueishan Island.

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Acknowledgements

We thank students and technicians in Prof. Jiang-Shiou Hwang’s laboratory for their assistance with sample collection in Kueishan Island. We are also grateful to Dr. Patrick Law for his assistance with pyrosequencing. Mr. Kwok Chu Cheung and colleagues at the Simon FS Li Marine Science Laboratory, CUHK, provided valuable support and help. This research was supported by a Direct Grant for Research from the Research Committee of The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Research in Taiwan was supported by the National Science Council of Taiwan, grant No. NSC 101-2611-M-019-011, NSC 100-2611-M-019-010, and NSC 99-2611-M-019-009.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Hadal Science and Technology, College of Marine Sciences, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, 201306, People’s Republic of China

    Li Wang & Rulong Liu

  2. School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China

    Man Kit Cheung, Chong Kim Wong & Hoi Shan Kwan

  3. Institute of Marine Biology, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, Taiwan

    Jiang-Shiou Hwang

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  1. Li Wang
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  2. Man Kit Cheung
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  3. Rulong Liu
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  4. Chong Kim Wong
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Correspondence to Li Wang.

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Wang, L., Cheung, M.K., Liu, R. et al. Diversity of Total Bacterial Communities and Chemoautotrophic Populations in Sulfur-Rich Sediments of Shallow-Water Hydrothermal Vents off Kueishan Island, Taiwan. Microb Ecol 73, 571–582 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-016-0898-2

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