Abstract
The chemoautotrophic potential of the two co-occurring larger and smaller bacterial endosymbionts of the gutless marine oligochaete Inanidrilus leukodermatus was determined using immunocytochemistry. An antibody directed against the Form I of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RubisCO), the key CO2-fixing enzyme of the Calvin–Benson cycle, consistently labeled the larger symbionts. Electron microscopic spectroscopy showed that the larger symbionts contained sulfur in intracellular globules and to a lesser degree in the cytoplasm. The presence of RubisCO and sulfur indicates that the larger endosymbionts of I. leukodermatus are chemoautotrophic sulfur-oxidizing bacteria. In contrast, no RubisCO or sulfur was detected in the smaller endosymbionts of this host.
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Received: 28 September 1999 / Accepted: 29 May 2000
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Krieger, J., Giere, O. & Dubilier, N. Localization of RubisCO and sulfur in endosymbiotic bacteria of the gutless marine oligochaete Inanidrilus leukodermatus (Annelida). Marine Biology 137, 239–244 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1007/s002270000355
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s002270000355