Archaeal community structure in sediments from a seamount in the Mariana Volcanic Arc

Seamounts are subsurface mountains in the ocean. Examination of the abundance and distribution of Archaea in seamount ecosystems may provide a better understanding of their ecological functions. Most studies of marine archaeal assemblages in seamount area have focused on hydrothermal vents or ferromanganese crusts. We investigated the archaeal communities from a seamount of the Mariana Volcanic Arc, in the tropical western Pacific Ocean by using high-throughput sequencing. Thaumarchaeota was dominant in the sediments of all sample stations. Community diversity and species richness were greatest at stations near the top of the seamount, and lowest at the deepest station. One sample station on the steep southeast slope that faced the Yap-Mariana trench had a unique composition of Archaea. In summary, depth has an important influence on archaeal community structure, and the geographic properties and sediment characteristics may explain the unique distribution patterns of Archaea in this seamount. This study provides a foundation for future research on Archaea in seamounts.

Characterization of uncultivated magnetotactic bacteria from the sediments of Yuehu Lake, China

Marine magnetotactic bacteria were collected from the intertidal sediments of Yuehu Lake（China）, where their abundance reached 103–104 ind./cm3. Diverse morphotypes of magnetotactic bacteria were observed, including cocci and oval, vibrio-, spirillum-, rod-, elliptical-, handle- and bar-shaped forms. The magnetococci were the most abundant, and had flagella arranged in parallel within a bundle. The majority of magnetosomes were arranged in one, two or multiple chains, although irregular arrangements were also evident. All the results of high-resolution transmission electron microscopy（HRTEM） analysis show that magnetosome crystals were composed of Fe3O4, and their morphology was specific to particular cell morphotypes. By the 16 S r RNA gene sequence analysis, we found fourteen operational taxonomic units（OTUs） which were related to magnetotactic bacteria. Among these, thirteen belonged to the Alphaproteobacteria and one to the Gammaproteobacteria.Compared with known axenic and uncultured marine magnetotactic bacteria, the 16 S r RNA gene sequences of most magnetotactic bacteria collected from the Yuehu Lake exhibited sequence identities ranging from 90.1% to96.2%（〈97%）. The results indicate that microbial communities containing previously unidentified magnetotactic bacteria occur in the Yuehu Lake.

Characterization of dominant giant rod-shaped magnetotactic bacteria from a low tide zone of the China Sea

Magnetotactic bacteria are a group of Gram-negative bacteria that synthesize magnetic crystals, enabling them to navigate in relation to magnetic field lines. Morphologies of magnetotactic bacteria include spirillum, coccoid, rod, vibrio, and multicellular morphotypes. The coccid shape is generally the most abundant morphotype among magnetotactic bacteria. Here we describe a species of giant rod-shaped magnetotactic bacteria(designated QR-1) collected from sediment in the low tide zone of Huiquan Bay(Yellow Sea, China). This morphotype accounted for 90% of the magnetotactic bacteria collected, and the only taxonomic group which was detected in the sampling site. Microscopy analysis revealed that QR-1 cells averaged(6.71±1.03)×(1.54±0.20) m m in size, and contained in each cell 42–146 magnetosomes that are arranged in a bundle formed one to four chains along the long axis of the cell. The QR-1 cells displayed axial magnetotaxis with an average velocity of 70±28 mm/s. Transmission electron microscopy based analysis showed that QR-1 cells had two tufts of fl agella at each end. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16 S r RNA genes revealed that QR-1 together with three other rod-shaped uncultivated magnetotactic bacteria are clustered into a deep branch of A lphaproteobacteria.