Microbial Diversity of a Sulfide Black Smoker in Main Endeavour Hydrothermal Vent Field, Juan de Fuca Ridge

• Published in: The journal of microbiology 2009, 47(3), , pp.235-247
• Main Authors: Zhou, Huaiyang, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, P. R. China, Li, Jiangtao, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, P. R. China, Peng, Xiaotong, Tongji University, Shanghai, P. R. China, Meng, Jun, Third Institute of Oceanography, SOA, Xiamen, P. R. China, Wang, Fengping, Third Institute of Oceanography, SOA, Xiamen, P. R. China, Ai, Yuncan, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, P. R. China
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Archaea; Archaea - classification; Archaea - isolation & purification; Bacteria; Bacteria - classification; Bacteria - isolation & purification; Biodiversity; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Cluster Analysis; Copper - analysis; Crenarchaeota; Deep sea; Desulfurococcales; DNA, Archaeal - chemistry; DNA, Archaeal - genetics; DNA, Bacterial - chemistry; DNA, Bacterial - genetics; DNA, Ribosomal - chemistry; DNA, Ribosomal - genetics; Dudley; Euryarchaeota; Gene libraries; Genes, rRNA; Habitat; Hot Springs - microbiology; hydrothermal chimney; Hydrothermal vents; Iron - analysis; Life Sciences; Metabolism; Methanogenic bacteria; microbial diversity; Microbiology; Minerals; Molecular Sequence Data; Phylogeny; Proteobacteria; RNA, Archaeal - genetics; RNA, Bacterial - genetics; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - genetics; rRNA 16S; Scanning electron microscopy; Seawater - chemistry; Seawater - microbiology; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; Sulfide; Sulfides; Sulfides - analysis; Sulfur; sulfur-related metabolism; SULFURE; SULFUROS; SULPHIDES; Thermococcales; Thermophilic archaea; Zinc - analysis; 생물학
• ISSN: 1225-8873; 1976-3794
• DOI: 10.1007/s12275-008-0311-z

Submarine hydrothermal vents are among the least-understood habitats on Earth but have been the intense focus of research in the past 30 years. An active hydrothermal sulfide chimney collected from the Dudley site in the Main Endeavour vent Field (MEF) of Juan de Fuca Ridge was investigated using mineralogical and molecular approaches. Mineral analysis indicated that the chimney was composed mainly of Fe-, Zn- and Cu-rich sulfides. According to phylogenetic analysis, within the Crenarchaeota, clones of the order Desulfurococcales predominated, comprising nearly 50% of archaeal clones. Euryarchaeota were composed mainly of clones belonging to Thermococcales and deep-sea hydrothermal vent Euryarchaeota (DHVE), each of which accounted for about 20% of all clones. Thermophilic or hyperthermophilic physiologies were common to the predominant archaeal groups. More than half of bacterial clones belonged to ε-Proteobacteria, which confirmed their prevalence in hydrothermal vent environments. Clones of Proteobacteria (γ-, δ-, β-), Cytophaga-Flavobacterium-Bacteroides (CFB) and Deinococcus-Thermus occurred as well. It was remarkable that methanogens and methanotrophs were not detected in our 16S rRNA gene library. Our results indicated that sulfur-related metabolism, which included sulfur-reducing activity carried out by thermophilic archaea and sulfur-oxidizing by mesophilic bacteria, was common and crucial to the vent ecosystem in Dudley hydrothermal site.