Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

PC03 Undergraduate Education

Date: Tuesday, February 13, 2001

Location: Southwest Hall

Rivers, A, R, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution REU, Woods Hole, USA, arivers@sar.usf.edu

Wirsen, C, O, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, USA,

Molyneaux, S, J, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole , USA,

Teske, A, , Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole , USA, ateske@whoi.edu

Edgcomb, V, , Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole , USA,

Kysela, D, , Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole , USA,

PHYLOGENY OF THERMOCOCCUS SP. AND PYROCOCCUS SP. AT ATLANTIC AND PACIFIC HYDROTHERMAL VENTS

Hyperthermophilic archaea occur in a wide variety of shallow water and deep-sea hydrothermal vent sites. A cosmopolitan occurrence of specific strains or species of archaea would indicate that dispersing cells of identical strains colonize new vents over large distances. A frequently used phylotyping approach, Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (DGGE) of PCR-amplified 16S rRNA gene fragments, had previously identified two cosmopolitan types of heterotrophic, sulfur-reducing, hyperthermophilic archaea from Mid-Atlantic Ridge and from several Pacific vent sites (Guaymas Basin, 9N and 21N East Pacific Rise). Full-length 16S rDNA sequencing of representative isolates from Mid-Atlantic vent sites, and sequence comparison to Pacific isolates, provided a finer resolution phylogram. Sequencing divided both apparently cosmopolitan DGGE classes into different phylotypes, each with a more specific geographic distribution. Within DGGE types I and II, the Atlantic strains formed phylogenetic clusters that were set apart from the Pacific strains. These data indicate that ocean-to-ocean dispersal of hydrothermal vent archaea does not obliterate a limited degree of biogeographic isolation. All strains belonged to the hyperthermophilic genera Thermococcus and Pyrococcus, consistent with their heterotrophic, sulfur-reducing phenotype.

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Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

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