Phenotypic Characterization, DNA Similarities, and Protein Profiles of Twenty Sulfur-Metabolizing Hyperthermophilic Anaerobic Archaea Isolated from Hydrothermal Vents in the Southwestern Pacific Ocean

Deep-sea hydrothermal vents and methane seeps are inhabited by members of the same higher taxa but share few species, thus scientists have long sought habitats or regions of intermediate character that would facilitate connectivity among these habitats. Here, a network analysis of 79 vent, seep, and whale-fall communities with 121 genus-level taxa identified sedimented vents as a main intermediate link between the two types of ecosystems. Sedimented vents share hot, metal-rich fluids with mid-ocean ridge-type vents and soft sediment with seeps. Such sites are common along the active continental margins of the Pacific Ocean, facilitating connectivity among vent/seep faunas in this region. By contrast, sedimented vents are rare in the Atlantic Ocean, offering an explanation for the greater distinction between its vent and seep faunas compared with those of the Pacific Ocean. The distribution of subduction zones and associated back-arc basins, where sedimented vents are common, likely plays a major role in the evolutionary and biogeographic connectivity of vent and seep faunas. The hypothesis that decaying whale carcasses are dispersal stepping stones linking these environments is not supported.

Download Full-text

Records of species of the hippolytid genus Lebbeus White, 1847 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Caridea) from hydrothermal vents in the Pacific Ocean, with descriptions of three new species

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.3241.1.2 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 3241 (1) ◽

pp. 35 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

TOMOYUKI KOMAI ◽

SHINJI TSUCHIDA ◽

MICHEL SEGONZAC

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Pacific Ocean ◽

Hydrothermal Vents ◽

Okinawa Trough ◽

East Pacific Rise ◽

East Pacific ◽

The Okinawa Trough ◽

The Pacific ◽

The Pacific Ocean ◽

Three New Species

Five species of the hippolytid shrimp genus Lebbeus White, 1847 are reported from various deep-water hydrothermal ventsites in the Pacific Ocean: L. laurentae Wicksten, 2010 from the East Pacific Rise 13°N; L. wera Ahyong, 2009 from theBrothers Seamount, Kermadec Ridge, New Zealand; L. pacmanus sp. nov. from the Manus Basin, Bismarck Sea; L.shinkaiae sp. nov. from the Okinawa Trough, Japan; and L. thermophilus sp. nov. from the Manus and Lau basins, south-western Pacific. Lebbeus laurentae is fully redescribed because the original and subsequent descriptions are not totallydetailed. Differentiating characters among the three new species and close allies are discussed. Previous records of Lebbeus species from hydrothermal vents are reviewed.

Download Full-text

Hydrothermal trace metal release and microbial metabolism in the northeastern Lau Basin of the South Pacific Ocean

Biogeosciences ◽

10.5194/bg-18-5397-2021 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (19) ◽

pp. 5397-5422

Author(s):

Natalie R. Cohen ◽

Abigail E. Noble ◽

Dawn M. Moran ◽

Matthew R. McIlvin ◽

Tyler J. Goepfert ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Trace Metals ◽

Pacific Ocean ◽

Hydrothermal Vents ◽

Spreading Center ◽

Marine Microorganisms ◽

Dissolved Metals ◽

Lau Basin ◽

Southwest Pacific ◽

South Pacific Ocean ◽

Close Proximity

Abstract. Bioactive trace metals are critical micronutrients for marine microorganisms due to their role in mediating biological redox reactions, and complex biogeochemical processes control their distributions. Hydrothermal vents may represent an important source of metals to microorganisms, especially those inhabiting low-iron waters, such as in the southwest Pacific Ocean. Previous measurements of primordial 3He indicate a significant hydrothermal source originating in the northeastern (NE) Lau Basin, with the plume advecting into the southwest Pacific Ocean at 1500–2000 m depth (Lupton et al., 2004). Studies investigating the long-range transport of trace metals associated with such dispersing plumes are rare, and the biogeochemical impacts on local microbial physiology have not yet been described. Here we quantified dissolved metals and assessed microbial metaproteomes across a transect spanning the tropical and equatorial Pacific with a focus on the hydrothermally active NE Lau Basin and report elevated iron and manganese concentrations across 441 km of the southwest Pacific. The most intense signal was detected near the Mangatolo Triple Junction (MTJ) and Northeast Lau Spreading Center (NELSC), in close proximity to the previously reported 3He signature. Protein content in distal-plume-influenced seawater, which was high in metals, was overall similar to background locations, though key prokaryotic proteins involved in metal and organic uptake, protein degradation, and chemoautotrophy were abundant compared to deep waters outside of the distal plume. Our results demonstrate that trace metals derived from the NE Lau Basin are transported over appreciable distances into the southwest Pacific Ocean and that bioactive chemical resources released from submarine vent systems are utilized by surrounding deep-sea microbes, influencing both their physiology and their contributions to ocean biogeochemical cycling.

Download Full-text

Myodocopid Ostracoda of Hydrothermal Vents in the Eastern Pacific Ocean

Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology ◽

10.5479/si.00810282.516 ◽

1991 ◽

pp. 1-46 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Louis S. Kornicker

Keyword(s):

Pacific Ocean ◽

Hydrothermal Vents ◽

Eastern Pacific ◽

Eastern Pacific Ocean

Download Full-text

A new species of Phyllochaetopterus (Chaetopteridae: Annelida) from near hydrothermal vents in the Lau Basin, western Pacific Ocean

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.1621.1.5 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 1621 (1) ◽

pp. 55-64 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

EIJIROH NISHI ◽

GREG W. ROUSE

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Pacific Ocean ◽

Hydrothermal Vents ◽

Western Pacific ◽

Anterior Region ◽

Western Pacific Ocean ◽

Middle Region ◽

Lau Basin ◽

The Pacific ◽

A New Species

Phyllochaetopterus lauensis n. sp., a new species of Chaetopteridae, is described from material collected by the DSV Jason II from the vicinity of hydrothermal vents in the Lau Basin, western Pacific Ocean. The new species is characterized by the coloration and patterning of the ventral shield of the anterior region (region A), the presence of one large cutting chaeta on each parapodium of the fourth chaetiger (A4), the shape of these A4 cutting chaetae (with a pear-shaped head), and presence of two middle-region (region B) chaetigers with foliose notopodia. The new species is very similar to some Spiochaetopterus species, but belongs in Phyllochaetopterus based on its possession of a pair of anterior ‘antennae’, which are in fact cirri of chaetiger one with internal chaetae. The new species is compared to other Phyllochaetopterus species, particularly from the Pacific, and we provide a table for all species currently referred to the genus.

Download Full-text