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Conspicuous Smooth and White Egg-Shaped Sulfur Structures on a Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vent Formed by Sulfide-Oxidizing Bacteria

Conspicuous egg-shaped, white, and smooth structures were observed at a hydrothermal vent site in the Guaymas Basin, Gulf of California. The gelatinous structures decomposed within hours after sampling. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and light microscopy showed that the structure consisted of fi...

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Autores principales: van Erk, Marit R., Krukenberg, Viola, Bomholt Jensen, Pia, Littmann, Sten, de Beer, Dirk
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: American Society for Microbiology 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8557937/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34468192
http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/Spectrum.00955-21
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author van Erk, Marit R.
Krukenberg, Viola
Bomholt Jensen, Pia
Littmann, Sten
de Beer, Dirk
author_facet van Erk, Marit R.
Krukenberg, Viola
Bomholt Jensen, Pia
Littmann, Sten
de Beer, Dirk
author_sort van Erk, Marit R.
collection PubMed
description Conspicuous egg-shaped, white, and smooth structures were observed at a hydrothermal vent site in the Guaymas Basin, Gulf of California. The gelatinous structures decomposed within hours after sampling. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and light microscopy showed that the structure consisted of filaments of less than 0.1 μm thickness, similar to those observed for “Candidatus Arcobacter sulfidicus.” SEM-energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) showed that the filaments were sulfur rich. According to 16S rRNA gene amplicon and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analyses, Arcobacter, a sulfide oxidizer that is known to produce filamentous elemental sulfur, was among the dominant species in the structure and was likely responsible for its formation. Arcobacter normally produces woolly snowflake like structures in opposed gradients of sulfide and oxygen. In the laboratory, we observed sulfide consumption in the anoxic zone of the structure, suggesting an anaerobic conversion. The sulfide oxidation and decomposition of the structure in the laboratory may be explained by dissolution of the sulfur filaments by reaction with sulfide under formation of polysulfides. IMPORTANCE At the deep-sea Guaymas Basin hydrothermal vent system, sulfide-rich hydrothermal fluids mix with oxygenated seawater, thereby providing a habitat for microbial sulfur oxidation. Microbial sulfur oxidation in the deep sea involves a variety of organisms and processes and can result in the excretion of elemental sulfur. Here, we report on conspicuous white and smooth gelatinous structures found on hot vents. These strange egg-shaped structures were often observed on previous occasions in the Guaymas Basin, but their composition and formation process were unknown. Our data suggest that the notable and highly ephemeral structure was likely formed by the well-known sulfide-oxidizing Arcobacter. While normally Arcobacter produces loose flocs or woolly layers, here smooth gel-like structures were found.
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spelling pubmed-85579372021-11-08 Conspicuous Smooth and White Egg-Shaped Sulfur Structures on a Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vent Formed by Sulfide-Oxidizing Bacteria van Erk, Marit R. Krukenberg, Viola Bomholt Jensen, Pia Littmann, Sten de Beer, Dirk Microbiol Spectr Research Article Conspicuous egg-shaped, white, and smooth structures were observed at a hydrothermal vent site in the Guaymas Basin, Gulf of California. The gelatinous structures decomposed within hours after sampling. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and light microscopy showed that the structure consisted of filaments of less than 0.1 μm thickness, similar to those observed for “Candidatus Arcobacter sulfidicus.” SEM-energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) showed that the filaments were sulfur rich. According to 16S rRNA gene amplicon and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analyses, Arcobacter, a sulfide oxidizer that is known to produce filamentous elemental sulfur, was among the dominant species in the structure and was likely responsible for its formation. Arcobacter normally produces woolly snowflake like structures in opposed gradients of sulfide and oxygen. In the laboratory, we observed sulfide consumption in the anoxic zone of the structure, suggesting an anaerobic conversion. The sulfide oxidation and decomposition of the structure in the laboratory may be explained by dissolution of the sulfur filaments by reaction with sulfide under formation of polysulfides. IMPORTANCE At the deep-sea Guaymas Basin hydrothermal vent system, sulfide-rich hydrothermal fluids mix with oxygenated seawater, thereby providing a habitat for microbial sulfur oxidation. Microbial sulfur oxidation in the deep sea involves a variety of organisms and processes and can result in the excretion of elemental sulfur. Here, we report on conspicuous white and smooth gelatinous structures found on hot vents. These strange egg-shaped structures were often observed on previous occasions in the Guaymas Basin, but their composition and formation process were unknown. Our data suggest that the notable and highly ephemeral structure was likely formed by the well-known sulfide-oxidizing Arcobacter. While normally Arcobacter produces loose flocs or woolly layers, here smooth gel-like structures were found. American Society for Microbiology 2021-09-01 /pmc/articles/PMC8557937/ /pubmed/34468192 http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/Spectrum.00955-21 Text en Copyright © 2021 van Erk et al. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) .
spellingShingle Research Article
van Erk, Marit R.
Krukenberg, Viola
Bomholt Jensen, Pia
Littmann, Sten
de Beer, Dirk
Conspicuous Smooth and White Egg-Shaped Sulfur Structures on a Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vent Formed by Sulfide-Oxidizing Bacteria
title Conspicuous Smooth and White Egg-Shaped Sulfur Structures on a Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vent Formed by Sulfide-Oxidizing Bacteria
title_full Conspicuous Smooth and White Egg-Shaped Sulfur Structures on a Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vent Formed by Sulfide-Oxidizing Bacteria
title_fullStr Conspicuous Smooth and White Egg-Shaped Sulfur Structures on a Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vent Formed by Sulfide-Oxidizing Bacteria
title_full_unstemmed Conspicuous Smooth and White Egg-Shaped Sulfur Structures on a Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vent Formed by Sulfide-Oxidizing Bacteria
title_short Conspicuous Smooth and White Egg-Shaped Sulfur Structures on a Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vent Formed by Sulfide-Oxidizing Bacteria
title_sort conspicuous smooth and white egg-shaped sulfur structures on a deep-sea hydrothermal vent formed by sulfide-oxidizing bacteria
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8557937/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34468192
http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/Spectrum.00955-21
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