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Endosymbiotic Microflora of the Vestimentiferan Tubeworm (Lamellibrachia sp.) from a Bathyal Cold Seep

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Abstract

Gutless vestimentiferan tubeworms are known to harbor endosymbiotic bacteria in a specialized tissue, the trophosome, which consists of lobules. The endosymbionts of vestimentiferans inhabiting sulfide-rich hydrothermal vents are monospecific for their host. In contrast, previous studies suggest that vestimentiferas of methane-rich seeps may host multispecific symbionts. Phylogenetic analysis and dot-blot hybridization of 16S ribosomal RNA genes (16S rDNA) detected 4 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) in the trophosome of the vestimentifera Lamellibrachia species from a bathyal methane-seep. The OTUs were closely related to 16S rDNA of the species belonging to α-Proteobacteria (Sulfitobacter), β-Proteobacteria (Janthinobacterium), and γ-Proteobacteria (Acinetobacter and Pseudomonas). Localizations of the 4 OTUs within the trophosome were confirmed by in situ hybridization (ISH). ISH signals of the α-proteobacterial OTU were observed in the innermost zone of the trophosome lobules. In contrast, ISH signals of the β- and γ-proteobacterial OTUs were observed at the periphery of the lobules; however, whether they occur inside or outside the lobules remains unclear. These results support the possibility that the studied methane-seep tubeworm has a microflora composed of multispecific endosymbionts.

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Acknowledgements

Mr. Masahiro Yoshida, the observer of the submersible Shinkai 2000’s dive no. 722, kindly offered the vestimentiferan and sediment samples. We are obliged to Ms. Terumi Akeno, National Research Institute of Brewery, for her help in DNA sequencing. Our thanks also go to Prof. Y. Yoshimura, Hiroshima University, for his help in the preparation of histologic sections for ISH. This work was partly supported by the Special Coordination Fund “Archaean Park,” Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan; the Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (14340268) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science; and the Electric Technology Research Foundation of Chugoku, Japan.

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  1. School of Biosphere Sciences, Hiroshima University, 1-4-4 Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima 739-8528, Japan

    Hiroyuki Kimura, Yukimasa Higashide & Takeshi Naganuma

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  1. Hiroyuki Kimura
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  2. Yukimasa Higashide
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Correspondence to Takeshi Naganuma.

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Kimura, H., Higashide, Y. & Naganuma, T. Endosymbiotic Microflora of the Vestimentiferan Tubeworm (Lamellibrachia sp.) from a Bathyal Cold Seep . Mar. Biotechnol. 5, 593–603 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10126-002-0117-7

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