Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley
Résumé : International audience
Cold seeps have recently been discovered in the Nile deep-sea fan (Eastern Mediterranean), and data regarding associated fauna are still scarce. In this study, two bivalve species associated with carbonate crusts and reduced sediment are identified based on sequence analysis of their 18S and 28S rRNAencoding genes, and associated bacterial symbioses are investigated using 16S rRNA gene sequencing and microscopy-based approaches. The specimens are closely related to Myrtea spinifera and Thyasira flexuosa, two species previously documented at various depths from other regions but not yet reported from the Eastern Mediterranean. Both species harbour abundant gammaproteobacterial endosymbionts in specialized gill epithelial cells. The Myrtea-associated bacterium is closely related to lucinid symbionts from both deep-sea and coastal species, whereas the Thyasira-associated bacterium is closely related to the symbiont of a T. flexuosa from coastal waters off the U.K. An epsilonproteobacterial sequence has also been identified in Thyasira which could correspond to a helicoid-shaped morphotype observed by electron microscopy, but this was not confirmed using fluorescent in situ hybridization. Virus-like particles were observed within some symbionts in Thyasira, mostly in bacteriocytes localized close to the ciliated zone of the gill filament. Overall, results indicate that very close relatives of shallow species M. spinifera and T. flexuosa occur at cold seeps in the Eastern Mediterranean and harbour chemoautotrophic symbioses similar to those found in their coastal relatives.
ISSN: 0173-9565

hal-00743765
https://hal.univ-antilles.fr/hal-00743765
DOI : 10.1111/j.1439-0485.2010.00413.x

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley-Blackwell
Résumé : International audience
The first studies of the 16S rRNA gene diversity of the bacterial symbionts found in lucinid clams did not clarify how symbiotic associations had evolved in this group. Indeed, although species-specific associations deriving from a putative ancestral symbiotic association have been described (coevolution scenario), associations between the same bacterial species and various host species (opportunistic scenario) have also been described. Here, we carried out a comparative molecular analysis of hosts, based on 18S and 28S rRNA gene sequences, and of symbionts, based on 16S rRNA gene sequences, to determine as to which evolutionary scenario led to modern lucinid/symbiont associations. For all sequences analyzed, we found only three bacterial symbiont species, two of which are harbored by lucinids colonizing mangrove swamps. The last symbiont is the most common and was found to be independent of biotope or depth. Another interesting feature is the similarity of ctenidial organization of lucinids from the Philippines to those described previously, with the exception that two bacterial morphotypes were observed in two different species (Gloverina rectangularis and Myrtea flabelliformis). Thus, there is apparently no specific association between Lucinidae and their symbionts, the association taking place according to which bacterial species is present in the environment.
ISSN: 0168-6496

hal-00743766
https://hal.univ-antilles.fr/hal-00743766
DOI : 10.1111/j.1574-6941.2010.00989.x

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley-Blackwell
Résumé : International audience
Associations between marine invertebrates and chemoautotrophic bacteria constitute a wide field for the study of symbiotic associations. In these interactions, symbiont transmission must represent the cornerstone allowing the persistence of the association throughout generations. Within Bivalvia, in families such as Solemyidae or Vesicomyidae, symbiont transmission is undoubtedly vertical. However, in Lucinidae, symbiont transmission is described in the literature as 'environmental', symbionts being acquired from the environment by the new host generations. Hence, if there is transmission, symbionts should be transmitted from adults to juveniles via the environment. Consequently, we should observe a release of the symbiont by adults. We attempted to detect such a release within two Lucinidae species of the genus Codakia. We sampled 10 Codakia orbicularis and 20 Codakia orbiculata distributed in 10 crystallizing dishes containing filtered seawater. During 1 month of investigation, we analyzed water of the dishes in order to detect any release of a symbiont using catalyzed report deposition-FISH techniques. For 140 observations realized during this period, we did not observe any release of symbionts. This suggests that the idea of host-to-host passage in Lucinidae is inaccurate. We could therefore consider that the transmission mode from generation to generation does not occur within Lucinidae, symbiosis appearing to be advantageous in this case only for the host, and constitutes an evolutionary dead-end for the bacteria.
ISSN: 0168-6496

hal-00751560
https://hal.univ-antilles.fr/hal-00751560
DOI : 10.1111/j.1574-6941.2008.00626.x

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Springer Verlag
Résumé : International audience
In chemoautotrophic associations, sequence comparison of 16S rRNA has been the method of choice to study bacterial diversity in the context of host/symbiont coevolution. However, the relative low rate of evolution of 16S rRNA has been shown to result in a diminished capacity to discriminate between closely related bacterial strains or species. Within chemoautotrophic associations, as described in several studies, the use of other genetic markers may reveal previously unobserved strain diversity among gill endosymbionts. Herein, we conducted a survey of symbionts harbored by six species within the Lucinidae family using five genetic markers (dnaE, gyrB, aprA, cbbL genes and the 16S-23S internal transcribed spacer). Thus, within the already described SoLuc₁ bacterial species shared by six host species we observed an obvious bacterial strain diversity. This diversity is structured in function of the geographic location of the hosts and not in function of ecological parameters or host phylogeny. Interestingly at the local level (same seagrass bed environment), we observed an unexpected specificity in host species/bacterial strain association (i.e., all individuals of the same host species harbor the same symbiotic sequence type). This specificity of association implied that there was a control of symbiont strain acquisition by the host, which was confirmed by a cross-infection experiment of starved adults performed in our study. Based upon our results and other evidence from the literature, we hypothesize that this pattern may be due to a ``capture/escape'' type antagonist evolution of the two partners.
ISSN: 0025-3162

hal-01544753
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01544753
DOI : 10.1007/s00227-016-2949-0

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley-Blackwell
Résumé : International audience
Archaea may be involved in global energy cycles, and are known for their ability to interact with eukaryotic species (sponges, corals and ascidians) or as archaeal-bacterial consortia. The recently proposed phylum Thaumarchaeota may represent the deepest branching lineage in the archaeal phylogeny emerging before the divergence between Euryarchaeota and Crenarchaeota. Here we report the first characterization of two marine thaumarchaeal species from shallow waters that consist of multiple giant cells. One species is coated with sulfur-oxidizing g-Proteobacteria. These new uncultured thaumarchaeal species are able to live in the sulfide-rich environments of a tropical mangrove swamp, either on living tissues such as roots or on various kinds of materials such as stones, sunken woods, etc. These archaea and archaea/bacteria associations have been studied using light microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Species identification of archaeons and the putative bacterial symbiont have been assessed by 16S small subunit ribosomal RNA analysis. The sulfur-oxidizing ability of the bacteria has been assessed by genetic investigation on alpha-subunit of the adenosine-5_- phosphosulfate reductase/oxidase's (AprA). Species identifications have been confirmed by fluorescence in situ hybridization using specific probes designed in this study. In this article, we describe two new giant archaeal species that form the biggest archaeal filaments ever observed. One of these species is covered by a specific biofilm of sulfur-oxidizing g-Proteobacteria. This study highlights an unexpected morphological and genetic diversity of the phylum Thaumarchaeota.
ISSN: 1462-2912

hal-00715219
https://hal.univ-antilles.fr/hal-00715219
DOI : 10.1111/j.1462-2920.2010.02309.x