Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley
Résumé : International audience
Background information. Marine nematodes belonging to the Stilbonematidae (Desmodoridae) family are described as living in obligatory association with sulfur-oxidizing chemoautotrophic ectosymbionts. The symbiotic bacteria carrying out this chemosynthesis should contain elemental sulfur in periplasmic granules as sulfur granules of chemoautotrophic endosymbionts described in various marine invertebrates. Results. Based on TEM analyses, extracellular bacteria surrounding Eubostrichus dianae possess these spherical periplasmic granules. Few investigative techniques can be used to identify elemental sulfur S8 such as EDXS (energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy) and EELS (electron energy loss spectroscopy) associated with cryo-fixation of the sample to avoid sulfur loss. These techniques are time consuming, expensive and require technical skills. Raman microspectrometry applied to the analysis of E. dianae allowed us to detect elemental sulfur S8 and confirmed the location of these sulfur clusters in the bacterial coat. In the same way, Raman spectrometry was positively applied to the endosymbiotic bivalve Codakia orbicularis, suggesting that this technique can be used to characterize sulfur in ecto- as well as in endo-symbiotic sulfur-oxidizing bacteria. Conclusions. As Raman spectrometry can be used on living organisms (without preliminary fixation) without sample damage and preserving the molecular structure of the sulfur (denatured during chemical fixation) it represents a very well-adapted investigative tool for biologists. This technique therefore permits us to detect quickly and easily (in a few seconds and on entire living animals) the presence of sulfur compounds in the symbiotic nematode.
ISSN: 0248-4900

hal-00753017
https://hal.univ-antilles.fr/hal-00753017

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
Filamentous sulfur bacteria of the genus Beggiatoa form large mats covering the sediment in the shallow waters of a Guadeloupean mangrove (French West Indies). The abundance of these bacteria varies over the year and their trophic role may, therefore, also vary. We investigated this variation by conducting a survey examining the stable isotopic compositions of four grazers and four food sources during nine sampling sessions in three different periods of the year. We analyzed bulk isotopic compositions for each component except for the bacterial and diatom communities, for which we carried out a compound-specific 13C analysis of phospholipid-derived fatty acids (PLFAs). Correlations between isotopic compositions revealed a predominance of diatoms in the diet of nematodes and the important role of detritus and bacteria in the diet of the polychaete Ceratocephale sp. None of the grazers had an isotopic composition correlated with that of Beggiatoa suggesting that sulfur bacteria were not a predominant part of the diet of any grazer. Beggiatoa has a large central vacuole, resulting in a very low carbon content-to-volume ratio, potentially accounting for its low level of attractiveness to grazers. Mangrove sediments are habitats rich in organic carbon, in which, the addition of a food source, such as Beggiatoa, would have a limited effect on the structure of the food web over the course of the year.
Food Webs

hal-01545906
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01545906
DOI : 10.1016/j.fooweb.2016.04.001

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : The presence of obstacles met in natural environment by the flow, influences the dispersion of air pollutants which it carries. This thesis, based on spatiotemporal micro-meteorological measurements in tropical region, aims at studying the dispersion of compounds emitted by the ecosystem mangrove according to the weather conditions. At a daily scale, the meteorological analysis reveals, besides the presence of Trade Winds, the existence of thermal flows of which nocturnal thermodynamic parameters have been defined. The field observation has shown that the weak intensity of the wind disadvantages the dispersion of compounds emitted during the night. At a finer scale, the existence of a spectral gap separating large scale phenomena of those related to turbulence has been demonstrated. These last ones were treated by spectral and statistical approaches to quantify the turbulent fluxes of momentum and sensible heat during the night, for an averaged duration of 13 minutes. The stratification of the surface layer has been considered and determined by Monin-Obukhov similarity theory. The measurements acquired at night and the application of Kolmogorov theory allowed us to deduct the dissipation rate of energy and the size of the vortices at 5.5 meters in height. This work has also led us, by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry, to identify, in mangrove, sulphurated volatil organic compounds, organohalogen, BTEX, ... All these results will later serve to feed dispersion models related to the studied ecosystem.
La présence d'obstacles rencontrés en milieu naturel par l'écoulement, influence la dispersion des polluants qu'il transporte. Cette thèse, fondée sur des mesures micro-météorologiques spatio-temporelles en région tropicale, vise à étudier la dispersion de composés émis par l'écosystème mangrove en fonction des conditions météorologiques. A l'échelle journalière, l'analyse météorologique révèle, outre la présence des Alizés, l'existence d'écoulements thermiques dont des paramètres thermodynamiques nocturnes ont été définis. L'observation terrain nous a montré que la faible intensité du vent défavorise la dispersion des composés émis durant la nuit. A une échelle plus fine, l'existence d'un trou spectral séparant les phénomènes de grande échelle de ceux liés à la turbulence a été mise en évidence. Ces derniers ont été traités par des approches spectrale et statistique pour quantifier les flux turbulents de quantité de mouvement et de chaleur sensible, pendant la nuit, pour une durée de moyenne de l'ordre de 13 minutes. L'état de stratification de la couche de surface a été pris en compte et déterminé par la théorie de similitude de Monin-Obukhov. Les mesures nocturnes effectuées et l'application de la théorie de Kolmogorov ont permis de déduire les taux de dissipation de l'énergie et la taille des tourbillons à 5,5 m d'altitude. Ce travail a également conduit, par l'analyse chromatographique en phase gazeuse couplée à la spectrométrie de masse, à l'identification, en mangrove, de composés organiques volatils soufrés, des organohalogénés, des BTEX, ... L'ensemble de ces résultats servira ultérieurement à alimenter les modèles de dispersion spécifiques liés aux écosystèmes étudiés.
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00665882

Droits : info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess
NNT : 11AGUY0438
tel-00665882
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00665882
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00665882/document
https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00665882/file/ThA_seCdAlexis.pdf

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Nature Publishing Group
Résumé : International audience
The shallow water bivalve Codakia orbicularis lives in symbiotic association with a sulfur-oxidizing bacterium in its gills. The endosymbiont fixes CO2 and thus generates organic carbon compounds, which support the host's growth. To investigate the uncultured symbiont's metabolism and symbiont-host interactions in detail we conducted a proteogenomic analysis of purified bacteria. Unexpectedly, our results reveal a hitherto completely unrecognized feature of the C. orbicularis symbiont's physiology: the symbiont's genome encodes all proteins necessary for biological nitrogen fixation (diazotrophy). Expression of the respective genes under standard ambient conditions was confirmed by proteomics. Nitrogenase activity in the symbiont was also verified by enzyme activity assays. Phylogenetic analysis of the bacterial nitrogenase reductase NifH revealed the symbiont's close relationship to free-living nitrogen-fixing Proteobacteria from the seagrass sediment. The C. orbicularis symbiont, here tentatively named `Candidatus Thiodiazotropha endolucinida', may thus not only sustain the bivalve's carbon demands. C. orbicularis may also benefit from a steady supply of fixed nitrogen from its symbiont-a scenario that is unprecedented in comparable chemoautotrophic symbioses.
ISSN: 2058-5276

hal-01545904
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01545904
DOI : 10.1038/nmicrobiol.2016.193

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
Seven individuals of a single morphotype of mussels (Bivalvia: Mytilidae) were found attached to a naturally sunken whale intervertebral disk collected in Guadeloupe (Caribbean) at 800 m depth. These specimens resemble small Idas mussels which are found worldwide at cold seeps and hydrothermal vents, and typically harbor ectosymbiotic bacteria on their gills upon which they depend for nutrition. Based on multi-locus gene sequencing, these specimens appear to belong to a new species closely related to two species now included within the genus Terua. Unexpectedly, its closest relatives are found in the Pacific, questioning how this species has reached the Antilles arc. Based on marker gene sequence analysis, electron and fluorescence microscopy, Terua n. sp. harbors two distinct and abundant extracellular bacterial symbionts located between microvilli at the apical surface of host gill epithelial cells. One is a sulfur-oxidizing bacterium similar to the symbionts previously identified in several deep-sea mussels, while the other is related to Colwellia species, a group of cold-adapted heterotrophic bacteria able to degrade organic compounds. This study provides the first evidence for the existence of a dual symbiosis in mussels from whale fall ecosystems in the Caribbean. The evolutionary history of Terua n. sp. and potential role of its Colwellia symbionts are discussed.
Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers

hal-01336943
http://hal.upmc.fr/hal-01336943
http://hal.upmc.fr/hal-01336943/document
http://hal.upmc.fr/hal-01336943/file/Duperron_Colwellia_and.pdf
DOI : 10.1016/j.dsr.2016.05.012

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley
Résumé : International audience
The Caribbean bivalves Codakia orbicularis (Linnée, 1758) and C. orbiculata (Montagu, 1808) live in seagrass beds of Thalassia testudinum and harbor intracellular sulfuroxidizing gamma-proteobacteria. These bacterial symbionts fix CO2 via the Calvin Benson cycle and provide organic compounds to the bivalve. During experimentally induced starvation, no reduced sulfur compounds and no organic particle food are available; the symbionts could be considered as the sole nutrient source of the host bivalve. A previous study has shown that the intracellular bacterial population decreased considerably during starvation and that bacterial endosymbionts were not released by the bivalves. In this study, the activity of two lysosomal marker enzymes (acid phosphatase and arylsulfatase) was detected using cytochemical experiments coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray transmission electron microscopy during sulfide and organic particle starvation. The degradation of bacterial endosymbionts began after 2 weeks of starvation in C. orbiculata and after 3 weeks in C. orbicularis. Degradation processes seem to be continuous over several months and could be responsible for the disappearance of the bacterial endosymbionts within the gills during starvation. These data suggest that the host use symbionts as a nutrient source to survive a hunger crisis. The carbon transfer from the symbionts to the host could be flexible and could consist in transfer of organic matter, “milking,” under normal feeding conditions and digestion of the symbionts under starved conditions.
ISSN: 1059-910X

Droits : info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess
hal-01206367
https://hal.univ-antilles.fr/hal-01206367
https://hal.univ-antilles.fr/hal-01206367/document
https://hal.univ-antilles.fr/hal-01206367/file/revised%20version%20to%20be%20submitted%20to%20the%20editor3oct.pdf
DOI : 10.1002/jemt.22458