Project description:The goal of this study was to identify the key functions of the six main symbionts that are hosted in gills of the marine bivalve, Idas modiolaeformis, which lives at deep-sea hydrocarbon seeps and wood falls in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. These symbionts include the main autotrophic methane- and sulfur-oxidizing lineages (Methyloprofundus, Thioglobus, Thiodubillierella), as well as a Methylophagaceae methylotrophic autotroph, a flavobacterial degrader of complex polysaccharides Urechidicola and a Nitrincolaceae heterotroph that specializes in degradation of nitrogen-rich compounds such as peptides and nucleosides. Four I. modiolaeformis individuals were preserved in RNAlater following retrieval from a brine pool habitat in the Eastern Mediterranean at 1,150 m water depth (32° 13.4' N 34° 10.7' E), using a remotely-operated vehicle. RNAlater was discarded after 24 hours, and the specimens were kept at -80°C until DNA/RNA/protein co-extraction using the AllPrep DNA/RNA/Protein Mini Kit (Cat. No. 80004, Qiagen).
Project description:The goal of this study was to identify the key functions of Candidatus Thiodiazotropha gloverae symbionts that are hosted in the gills of the lucinind clams, Lucinoma kazani, found at the deep-sea hydrocarbon seeps in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. These symbionts (Cromatiales, Sedimenticolaceae) are chemoautotrophs that use sulfide and thiosulfate as electron donors, and oxygen or nitrate as electron acceptors to fuel energy conservation. Yet, Ca. Thiodiazotropha gloverae ex. Lucinoma kazani can use alternative energy sources, such as methanol and formate. These symbionts encode the metabolic potential for dinitrogen fixation. In April 2021, we collected four L. kazani specimens near a brine pool in Palmahim Disturbance offshore Israel at a water depth of approximately 1150 m, (32° 13' 23.5" N 34° 10' 42.19" E), using a remotely-operated vehicle. They were fixed in RNAlater, which was discarded after 24 hours, and the specimens were kept at -80°C until DNA/RNA/protein co-extraction using the AllPrep DNA/RNA/Protein Mini Kit (Cat. No. 80004, Qiagen).