Journal
FEMS MICROBIOLOGY ECOLOGY
Volume 85, Issue 1, Pages 116-127Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1111/1574-6941.12104
Keywords
Leptothrix ochracea; iron-oxidation; Zetaproteobacteria FISH probes; Loihi Seamount; convergent evolution; marine iron-mats; deep-sea sampling
Categories
Funding
- NSF Microbial Observatory program [MCB-0348330, MCB-0348734, MCB-0348668/0742010]
- NASA EPSCoR
- Direct For Biological Sciences
- Division Of Integrative Organismal Systems [951077] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
- Direct For Biological Sciences
- Div Of Biological Infrastructure [0934176] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
- Directorate For Geosciences
- Division Of Ocean Sciences [1155756] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
- EPSCoR
- Office Of The Director [814251] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
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Lithotrophic iron-oxidizing bacteria (FeOB) form microbial mats at focused flow or diffuse flow vents in deep-sea hydrothermal systems where Fe(II) is a dominant electron donor. These mats composed of biogenically formed Fe(III)-oxyhydroxides include twisted stalks and tubular sheaths, with sheaths typically composing a minor component of bulk mats. The micron diameter Fe(III)-oxyhydroxide-containing tubular sheaths bear a strong resemblance to sheaths formed by the freshwater FeOB, Leptothrix ochracea. We discovered that veil-like surface layers present in iron-mats at the Loihi Seamount were dominated by sheaths (40-60% of total morphotypes present) compared with deeper (>1cm) mat samples (0-16% sheath). By light microscopy, these sheaths appeared nearly identical to those of L.ochracea. Clone libraries of the SSU rRNA gene from this top layer were dominated by Zetaproteobacteria, and lacked phylotypes related to L.ochracea. In mats with similar morphologies, terminal-restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) data along with quantitative PCR (Q-PCR) analyses using a Zetaproteobacteria-specific primer confirmed the presence and abundance of Zetaproteobacteria. A Zetaproteobacteria fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) probe hybridized to ensheathed cells (4% of total cells), while a L.ochracea-specific probe and a Betaproteobacteria probe did not. Together, these results constitute the discovery of a novel group of marine sheath-forming FeOB bearing a striking morphological similarity to L.ochracea, but belonging to an entirely different class of Proteobacteria.
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