Correlation of the siboglinid (Annelida: Siboglinidae) distribution to higher concentrations of hydrocarbons in the Sea of Okhotsk

Siboglinids are a characteristic feature of reducing environments. More than 75% of all siboglinids were found in the Sea of Okhotsk at a depth of less than 400 m, while some species are known to inhabit the abyssal depth in other regions. Among the six species of siboglinids encountered in the Sea of Okhotsk, only two are widespread: Siboglinum caulleryi and Oligobrachia dogieli. A significant number of all findings belong to the area where, according to geological data, the methane concentration varies between 0.22 and 4.46*10⁹ nmol/kg. There is a vast territory in the central part of the Sea of Okhotsk that is not inhabited by siboglinids and is characterized by minimum methane concentration values. Thus, data on the Sea of Okhotsk indicate that siboglinids are related to sites of methane seepage.

Extreme longevity in a deep-sea vestimentiferan tubeworm and its implications for the evolution of life history strategies

The deep sea is home to many species that have longer life spans than their shallow-water counterparts. This trend is primarily related to the decline in metabolic rates with temperature as depth increases. However, at bathyal depths, the cold-seep vestimentiferan tubeworm species Lamellibrachia luymesi and Seepiophila jonesi reach extremely old ages beyond what is predicted by the simple scaling of life span with body size and temperature. Here, we use individual-based models based on in situ growth rates to show that another species of cold-seep tubeworm found in the Gulf of Mexico, Escarpia laminata, also has an extraordinarily long life span, regularly achieving ages of 100-200 years with some individuals older than 300 years. The distribution of results from individual simulations as well as whole population simulations involving mortality and recruitment rates support these age estimates. The low 0.67% mortality rate measurements from collected populations of E. laminata are similar to mortality rates in L. luymesi and S. jonesi and play a role in evolution of the long life span of cold-seep tubeworms. These results support longevity theory, which states that in the absence of extrinsic mortality threats, natural selection will select for individuals that senesce slower and reproduce continually into their old age.

Cold seep epifaunal communities on the Hikurangi margin, New Zealand: composition, succession, and vulnerability to human activities

Cold seep communities with distinctive chemoautotrophic fauna occur where hydrocarbon-rich fluids escape from the seabed. We describe community composition, population densities, spatial extent, and within-region variability of epifaunal communities at methane-rich cold seep sites on the Hikurangi Margin, New Zealand. Using data from towed camera transects, we match observations to information about the probable life-history characteristics of the principal fauna to develop a hypothetical succession sequence for the Hikurangi seep communities, from the onset of fluid flux to senescence. New Zealand seep communities exhibit taxa characteristic of seeps in other regions, including predominance of large siboglinid tubeworms, vesicomyid clams, and bathymodiolin mussels. Some aspects appear to be novel; however, particularly the association of dense populations of ampharetid polychaetes with high-sulphide, high-methane flux, soft-sediment microhabitats. The common occurrence of these ampharetids suggests they play a role in conditioning sulphide-rich sediments at the sediment-water interface, thus facilitating settlement of clam and tubeworm taxa which dominate space during later successional stages. The seep sites are subject to disturbance from bottom trawling at present and potentially from gas hydrate extraction in future. The likely life-history characteristics of the dominant megafauna suggest that while ampharetids, clams, and mussels exploit ephemeral resources through rapid growth and reproduction, lamellibrachid tubeworm populations may persist potentially for centuries. The potential consequences of gas hydrate extraction cannot be fully assessed until extraction methods and target localities are defined but any long-term modification of fluid flow to seep sites would have consequences for all chemoautotrophic fauna.

Optimizing reproductive phenology in a two-resource world: a dynamic allocation model of plant growth predicts later reproduction in phosphorus-limited plants

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Timing of reproduction is a key life-history trait that is regulated by resource availability. Delayed reproduction in soils with low phosphorus availability is common among annuals, in contrast to the accelerated reproduction typical of other low-nutrient environments. It is hypothesized that this anomalous response arises from the high marginal value of additional allocation to root growth caused by the low mobility of phosphorus in soils.

METHODS

To better understand the benefits and costs of such delayed reproduction, a two-resource dynamic allocation model of plant growth and reproduction is presented. The model incorporates growth, respiration, and carbon and phosphorus acquisition of both root and shoot tissue, and considers the reallocation of resources from senescent leaves. The model is parameterized with data from Arabidopsis and the optimal reproductive phenology is explored in a range of environments.

KEY RESULTS

The model predicts delayed reproduction in low-phosphorus environments. Reproductive timing in low-phosphorus environments is quite sensitive to phosphorus mobility, but is less sensitive to the temporal distribution of mortality risks. In low-phosphorus environments, the relative metabolic cost of roots was greater, and reproductive allocation reduced, compared with high-phosphorus conditions. The model suggests that delayed reproduction in response to low phosphorus availability may be reduced in plants adapted to environments where phosphorus mobility is greater.

CONCLUSIONS

Delayed reproduction in low-phosphorus soils can be a beneficial response allowing for increased acquisition and utilization of phosphorus. This finding has implications both for efforts to breed crops for low-phosphorus soils, and for efforts to understand how climate change may impact plant growth and productivity in low-phosphorus environments.

The metabolic demands of endosymbiotic chemoautotrophic metabolism on host physiological capacities

While chemoautotrophic endosymbioses of hydrothermal vents and other reducing environments have been well studied, little attention has been paid to the magnitude of the metabolic demands placed upon the host by symbiont metabolism and the adaptations necessary to meet such demands. Here we make the first attempt at such an evaluation, and show that moderate to high rates of chemoautotrophic or methanotrophic metabolism impose oxygen uptake and proton equivalent elimination demands upon the hosts that are much higher than is typical for the non-symbiotic annelid, bivalve and gastropod lineages to which they are related. The properties of the hosts are described and compared to determine which properties are associated with and predictive of the highest rates. We suggest that the high oxygen demand of these symbionts is perhaps the most limiting flux for the symbioses. Among the consequences of such demands has been the widespread presence of circulating and/or tissue hemoglobins in these symbioses that are necessary to support high metabolic rates in thioautotrophic endosymbioses. We also compare photoautotrophic with chemoautotrophic and methanotrophic endosymbioses to evaluate the differences and similarities in physiologies. These analyses suggest that the high demand for oxygen by chemoautotrophic and methanotrophic symbionts is likely a major factor precluding their endosymbiosis with cnidarians.

Active archaeal communities at cold seep sediments populated by Siboglinidae tubeworms from the Storegga Slide

Siboglinid tubeworms in cold seep sediments can locally modify the geochemical gradients of electron acceptors and donors, hence creating potential microhabitats for prokaryotic populations. The archaeal communities associated with sediments populated by Oligobrachia haakonmosbiensis and Sclerolinum contortum Siboglinid tubeworms in the Storegga Slide were examined in this study. Vertical distribution of archaeal communities was investigated using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis based on 16S rRNA genes. The active fraction of the archaeal community was assessed by using reverse-transcribed rRNA. Archaeal communities associated with sediments colonized by tubeworms were affiliated with uncultivated archaeal lineages of the Crenarchaeota and Euryarchaeota. The composition of the active archaeal populations changed with depth indicating a reorganization of microbial communities. 16S rRNA gene libraries were dominated by sequences affiliated to the Rice Cluster V which are unusual in marine sediment samples. Moreover, this study provides the first evidence of living Crenarchaeota of the Rice Cluster V in cold seep sediments. Furthermore, the Storegga Slide sediments harbored a high diversity of other minor groups of uncultivated lineages including Terrestrial Miscellaneous Euryarchaeotal Group, Marine Benthic Group (MBG)-D, MBG-E, Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vent Euryarchaeotal Group, Lake Dagow Sediment, Val Kotinen Lake clade III, and Sippenauer Moor 1. Thus, we hypothesize that the vertical geochemical imprint created by the tubeworms could support broad active archaeal populations in the Siboglinidae-populated Storegga Slide sediments.

Dynamics of cell proliferation and apoptosis reflect different life strategies in hydrothermal vent and cold seep vestimentiferan tubeworms

Deep-sea vestimentiferan tubeworms, which live in symbiosis with bacteria, exhibit different life strategies according to their habitat. At unstable and relatively short-lived hydrothermal vents, they grow extremely fast, whereas their close relatives at stable and long-persisting cold seeps grow slowly and live up to 300 years. Growth and age differences are thought to occur because of ecological and physiological adaptations. However, the underlying mechanisms of cell proliferation and death, which are closely linked to homeostasis, growth, and longevity, are unknown. Here, we show by immunohistochemical and ultrastructural cell cycle analyses that cell proliferation activities of the two species studied are higher than in any other characterized invertebrate, being only comparable with tumor and wound-healing processes. The slow growth in Lamellibrachia luymesi from cold seeps results from balanced activities of proliferation and apoptosis in the epidermis. In contrast, Riftia pachyptila from hydrothermal vents grows fast because apoptosis is down-regulated in this tissue. The symbiont-housing organ, the trophosome, exhibits a complex cell cycle and terminal differentiation pattern in both species, and growth is regulated by proliferation. These mechanisms have similarities to the up- and down-regulation of proliferation or apoptosis in various types of tumor, although they occur in healthy animals in this study, thus providing significant insights into the underlying mechanisms of growth and longevity.

Macro-ecology of Gulf of Mexico cold seeps

Shortly after the discovery of chemosynthetic ecosystems at deep-sea hydrothermal vents, similar ecosystems were found at cold seeps in the Gulf of Mexico. Over the past two decades, these sites have become model systems for understanding the physiology of the symbiont-containing megafauna and the ecology of seep communities worldwide. Symbiont-containing bi-valves and siboglinid polychaetes dominate the communities, including five bathymodiolin mussel species and six vestimentiferan (siboglinid polychaete) species in the Gulf of Mexico. The mussels include the first described examples of methanotrophic symbiosis and dual methanotrophic/thiotrophic symbiosis. Studies with the vestimentiferans have demonstrated their potential for extreme longevity and their ability to use posterior structures for subsurface exchange of dissolved metabolites. Ecological investigations have demonstrated that the vestimentiferans function as ecosystem engineers and identified a community succession sequence from a specialized high-biomass endemic community to a low-biomass community of background fauna over the life of a hydrocarbon seep site.

The hydrocarbon seep tubeworm Lamellibrachia luymesi primarily eliminates sulfate and hydrogen ions across its roots to conserve energy and ensure sulfide supply

Lamellibrachia luymesi (Polychaeta, Siboglinidae) is a deep-sea vestimentiferan tubeworm that forms large bush-like aggregations at hydrocarbon seeps in the Gulf of Mexico. Like all vestimentiferans, L. luymesi obtains its nutrition from sulfide-oxidizing endosymbiotic bacteria, which it houses in an internal organ called the trophosome. This tubeworm has a lifespan of over 170 years and its survival is contingent upon the availability of sulfide during this long period. In sediments underlying L. luymesi aggregations, microbes produce sulfide by coupling sulfate reduction with hydrocarbon oxidation. L. luymesi acquires sulfide from the sediment using a root-like posterior extension of its body that is buried in the sediment. Its symbionts then oxidize the sulfide to produce energy for carbon fixation, and release sulfate and hydrogen ions as byproducts. It is critical for the tubeworm to eliminate these waste ions, and it could do so either across its vascular plume or across its root. In this study, we measured sulfate and proton elimination rates from live L. luymesi and found that they eliminated approximately 85% of the sulfate produced by sulfide oxidation, and approximately 67% of the protons produced by various metabolic processes, across their roots. On the basis of experiments using membrane transport inhibitors, we suggest that L. luymesi has anion exchangers that mediate sulfate elimination coupled with bicarbonate uptake. Roots could be the ideal exchange surface for eliminating sulfate and hydrogen ions for two reasons. First, these ions might be eliminated across the root epithelium using facilitated diffusion, which is energetically economical. Second, sulfate and hydrogen ions are substrates for bacterial sulfate reduction, and supplying these ions into the sediment might help ensure a sustained sulfide supply for L. luymesi over its entire lifespan.

Microfauna-macrofauna interaction in the seafloor: lessons from the tubeworm

New research and techniques are beginning to provide intriguing clues into the complex relationships that tubeworms form with other species at hydrothermal vents and deep-sea cold seeps

Chemosynthetic endosymbioses: adaptations to oxic–anoxic interfaces

Chemosynthetic endosymbioses occur ubiquitously at oxic-anoxic interfaces in marine environments. In these mutualisms, bacteria living directly within the cell of a eukaryotic host oxidize reduced chemicals (sulfur or methane), fueling their own energetic and biosynthetic needs, in addition to those of their host. In habitats such as deep-sea hydrothermal vents, chemosynthetic symbioses dominate the biomass, contributing substantially to primary production. Although these symbionts have yet to be cultured, physiological, biochemical and molecular approaches have provided insights into symbiont genetics and metabolism, as well as into symbiont-host interactions, adaptations and ecology. Recent studies of endosymbiont biology are reviewed, with emphasis on a conceptual model of thioautotrophic metabolism and studies linking symbiont physiology with the geochemical environment. We also discuss current and future research directions, focusing on the use of genome analyses to reveal mechanisms that initiate and sustain the symbiont-host interaction.

Bacterial endosymbioses of gutless tube-dwelling worms in nonhydrothermal vent habitats

Gutless tube-dwelling worms of pogonophorans (also known as frenulates) and vestimentiferans depend on primary production of endosymbiotic bacteria. The endosymbionts include thiotrophs that oxidize sulfur for autotrophic production and methanotrophs that oxidize and assimilate methane. Although most of the pogonophoran and vestimentiferan tube worms possess single thiotrophic 16S rRNA genes (16S rDNA) related to gamma-proteobacteria, some pogonohorans are known to bear single methanotroph species or even dual symbionts of thiotrophs and methanotrophs. The vestimentiferan Lamellibrachia sp. L1 shows symbiotic 16S rDNA sequences of alpha-, beta-, gamma-, and epsilon-proteobacteria, varying among specimens, with RuBisCO form II gene (cbbM) sequences related to beta-proteobacteria. An unidentified pogonophoran from the world's deepest cold seep, 7326-m deep in the Japan Trench, hosts a symbiotic thiotroph based on 16S rDNA with the RuBisCO form I gene (cbbL). In contrast, a shallow-water pogonophoran (Oligobrachia mashikoi) in coastal Japan Sea has a methanotrophic 16S rDNA and thiotrophic cbbL, which may suggest the feature of type X methanotrophs. These observations demonstrate that pogonophoran and vestimentiferan worms have higher plasticity in bacterial symbioses than previously suspected.

Modeling the mutualistic interactions between tubeworms and microbial consortia

The deep-sea vestimentiferan tubeworm Lamellibrachia luymesi forms large aggregations at hydrocarbon seeps in the Gulf of Mexico that may persist for over 250 y. Here, we present the results of a diagenetic model in which tubeworm aggregation persistence is achieved through augmentation of the supply of sulfate to hydrocarbon seep sediments. In the model, L. luymesi releases the sulfate generated by its internal, chemoautotrophic, sulfide-oxidizing symbionts through posterior root-like extensions of its body. The sulfate fuels sulfate reduction, commonly coupled to anaerobic methane oxidation and hydrocarbon degradation by bacterial–archaeal consortia. If sulfate is released by the tubeworms, sulfide generation mainly by hydrocarbon degradation is sufficient to support moderate-sized aggregations of L. luymesi for hundreds of years. The results of this model expand our concept of the potential benefits derived from complex interspecific relationships, in this case involving members of all three domains of life.

Modeling the interactions between deep-sea tubeworms and bacteria/archaea at hydrocarbon seeps provides a solution to their long term energy source and could help to explain the tubeworm's extreme longevity