Molecular characterization of a deep-sea methanotrophic mussel symbiont that carries a RuBisCO gene

Elsaied Hosam Easa

Kaneko Ryo

Naganuma Takeshi

Marine Biotechnology

In our previous investigation on the genes of 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBisCO; EC 4.1.1.39) in deep-sea chemoautotrophic and methanotrophic endosymbioses, the gene encoding the large subunit of RuBisCO form I (cbbL) had been detected in the gill of a mussel belonging to the genus Bathymodiolus from a western Pacific back-arc hydrothermal vent. This study further revealed the symbiont source of the RuBisCO cbbL gene along with the genes of 16S ribosomal RNA (16S rDNA), particulate methane monooxygenase (EC 1.14.13.25; pmoA) and ATP sulfurylase (EC 2.7.7.4; sopT). The 16S rDNA sequence analysis indicated that the mussel harbors a monospecific methanotrophic Gammaproteobacterium. This was confirmed by amplification and sequencing of the methanotrophic pmoA, while thiotrophic sopT was not amplified from the same symbiotic genome DNA. Fluorescence in situ hybridization demonstrated simultaneous occurrence of the symbiont-specific 16S rDNA, cbbL and pmoA, but not sopT, in the mussel gill. This is the first molecular and visual evidence for a methanotrophic bacterial endosymbiont that bears the RuBisCO cbbL gene relevant to autotrophic CO2 fixation.

Bathymodiolus

Deep sea

Methanotroph

RuBisCO

Symbiont

Fishing industry. Fisheries [ 660 ]

eng

Springer

Copyright (c) 2006 Springer-Verlag. "The original publication is available at www.springerlink.com"

[ISSN] 1436-2228

[DOI] 10.1007/s10126-005-6135-5

[NCID] AA11357643

[PMID] 16761196

[DOI] http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10126-005-6135-5 isVersionOf