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T hioploca spp. sheaths as niches for bacterial and protistan assemblages
Author(s) -
Buck Kurt R.,
Barry James P.,
Hallam Steven J.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
marine ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.668
H-Index - 58
eISSN - 1439-0485
pISSN - 0173-9565
DOI - 10.1111/maec.12076
Subject(s) - trichome , biology , protist , abyssal zone , ultrastructure , microbial mat , ecology , botany , bacteria , cyanobacteria , paleontology , fishery , biochemistry , gene
Sulfide oxidizing bacterial mats are common in regions of the continental shelves characterized by high primary production and the resultant oxygen minimum zone. These mats are made up of several species of B eggiatoa and/or T hioploca , which oxidize sulfide that is generated in the sediment. T hioploca spp. inhabit a large polysaccharide sheath that encompasses bundles of 1–20 filaments (trichomes), each ranging from 3 to 60 μm in diameter. This sheath has been shown to be a critical component of the autecology of T hioploca . Analysis of T hioploca from cold seeps in M onterey B ay using light and transmission electron microscopy identified new and diverse microbial assemblages associated with interstitial spaces between trichomes, inside the sheath. Small diameter, non‐vacuolate, filamentous prokaryotes were numerous. Amoebae, euglenozoa, ciliates and other protists of unknown affiliation were observed in sheaths. Most of the protists possessed food vacuoles and some protists showed ultrastructural evidence of endosymbionts. These observations suggest that T hioploca sheaths may serve as oases on the sea floor, providing nutritional and detoxification services to previously unrecognized microbial partners.