Bacterial diversity in deep-sea sediments from different depths

Seven sediment samples have been examined, taken from different depths of the deep-sea in the range of 1159m to 6482m. A total of 75 different 16S rDNA sequences (149 clones) analyzed clustered into the Proteobacteria, Gram-positive bacteria, Cytophaga, Planctomyces, and Actinomycetes and many sequences were from microorganisms that showed no phylogenetic affiliation with known bacteria. Clones identical to 16S rDNA sequences of members of the genus Pseudomonas were observed in all of the sediments examined. The second group of common sequences cloned from six sediment samples was related to the 16S rDNA sequence of a chemoautotrophic bacterium, the Solemya velum symbiont. Five 16S rDNA sequences from three sediments were related to those of the Alvinella pompejana epibiont which is a member of the -Proteobacteria. Only one sequence was obtained that was closely related to the 16S rDNA of the barophilic bacterium, Shewanella benthica, which might be a minor population in the deeper sediments. -Proteobacteria-related sequences were cloned from sediments obtained from sites near man-made garbage deposits and a Calyptogena community. These environments obviously would be richer in nutrients than other sites, and might be expected to show more types of bacteria than other deep-sea sediments. A large number of cloned sequences in this study showed very low identity to known sequences. These sequences may represent communities of as-yet-uncultivated microorganisms in the sediments.