Affiliation:
1. Max Planck Institute of Marine Microbiology, Celsiusstrasse 1, D-28359 Bremen, Germany
2. Department of Zoology, Göteborg University, Box 463, SE-405 30 Göteborg, Sweden
Abstract
ABSTRACT
Gutless oligochaetes are small marine worms that live in obligate associations with bacterial endosymbionts. While symbionts from several host species belonging to the genus
Olavius
have been described, little is known of the symbionts from the host genus
Inanidrilus
. In this study, the diversity of bacterial endosymbionts in
Inanidrilus leukodermatus
from Bermuda and
Inanidrilus makropetalos
from the Bahamas was investigated using comparative sequence analysis of the 16S rRNA gene and fluorescence in situ hybridization. As in all other gutless oligochaetes examined to date,
I. leukodermatus
and
I. makropetalos
harbor large, oval bacteria identified as Gamma 1 symbionts. The presence of genes coding for ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase form I (
cbbL
) and adenosine 5′-phosphosulfate reductase (
aprA
) supports earlier studies indicating that these symbionts are chemoautotrophic sulfur oxidizers. Alphaproteobacteria, previously identified only in the gutless oligochaete
Olavius loisae
from the southwest Pacific Ocean, coexist with the Gamma 1 symbionts in both
I. leukodermatus
and
I. makropetalos
, with the former harboring four and the latter two alphaproteobacterial phylotypes. The presence of these symbionts in hosts from such geographically distant oceans as the Atlantic and Pacific suggests that symbioses with alphaproteobacterial symbionts may be widespread in gutless oligochaetes. The high phylogenetic diversity of bacterial endosymbionts in two species of the genus
Inanidrilus
, previously known only from members of the genus
Olavius
, shows that the stable coexistence of multiple symbionts is a common feature in gutless oligochaetes.
Publisher
American Society for Microbiology
Subject
Ecology,Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology,Food Science,Biotechnology
Cited by
56 articles.
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