Dimorphism in methane seep-dwelling ecotypes of the largest known bacteria |
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| Authors: | Jake V Bailey Verena Salman Gregory W Rouse Heide N Schulz-Vogt Lisa A Levin Victoria J Orphan |
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| Institution: | 1.Department of Earth Sciences, University of Minnesota—Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN, USA;2.Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA;3.Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, Bremen, Germany;4.Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, CA, USA |
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| Abstract: | We present evidence for a dimorphic life cycle in the vacuolate sulfide-oxidizing bacteria that appears to involve the attachment of a spherical Thiomargarita-like cell to the exteriors of invertebrate integuments and other benthic substrates at methane seeps. The attached cell elongates to produce a stalk-like form before budding off spherical daughter cells resembling free-living Thiomargarita that are abundant in surrounding sulfidic seep sediments. The relationship between the attached parent cell and free-living daughter cell is reminiscent of the dimorphic life modes of the prosthecate Alphaproteobacteria, but on a grand scale, with individual elongate cells reaching nearly a millimeter in length. Abundant growth of attached Thiomargarita-like bacteria on the integuments of gastropods and other seep fauna provides not only a novel ecological niche for these giant bacteria, but also for animals that may benefit from epibiont colonization. |
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| Keywords: | Beggiatoa budding epibiont sulfur bacteria Thiomargarita Thioploca |
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