In situ microbial ecology of hydrothermal vent sediments |
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| Authors: | David B. Hedrick Ralph D. Pledger David C. White John A. Baross |
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| Affiliation: | Institute for Applied Microbiology, Knoxville, TN, USA; Department of Oceanography, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA; Department of Microbiology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA; Environmental Science Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, USA |
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| Abstract: | Abstract Lipid analysis of a preliminary sampling of the Endeavor Ridge hydrothermal vent site was performed in order to estimate the extent and nature of the diversity of the microbial community. The vent microbial community was found to be highly variable in density and composition. Evidence was found for a dense microbial community of archaebacteria and possibly Thiobacilli in the interior of the flange of a black smoker, a red Beggiatoa -type colony in a sediment sample, and large amounts of polyenoic fatty acids of the type previously found in barophilic eubacteria. Lipid analysis provided a 'snapshot' of the in situ biomass, community structure, and metabolic status of the microbial community, a valuable addition to the techniques available to the microbial ecologist. |
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| Keywords: | Hydrothermal vents Thermophiles Archaebacteria |
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