Deep-sea Bathymodiolus mussels, depending on species and location, have the capacity to host sulfur-oxidizing (thiotrophic) and methanotrophic eubacteria in gill bacteriocytes, although little is known about the mussels' mode of symbiont acquisition. Previous studies of Bathymodiolus host and symbiont relationships have been based on collections of nonoverlapping species across wide-ranging geographic settings, creating an apparent model for vertical transmission. We present genetic and cytological evidence for the environmental acquisition of thiotrophic endosymbionts by vent mussels from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Open pit structures in cell membranes of the gill surface revealed likely sites for endocytosis of free-living bacteria. A population genetic analysis of the thiotrophic symbionts exploited a hybrid zone where two Bathymodiolus species intergrade. Northern Bathymodiolus azoricus and southern Bathymodiolus puteoserpentis possess species-specific DNA sequences that identify both their symbiont strains (internal transcribed spacer regions) and their mitochondria (ND4). However, the northern and southern symbiont-mitochondrial pairs were decoupled in the hybrid zone. Such decoupling of symbiont-mitochondrial pairs would not occur if the two elements were transmitted strictly vertically through the germ line. Taken together, these findings are consistent with an environmental source of thiotrophic symbionts in Bathymodiolus mussels, although an environmentally “leaky” system of vertical transmission could not be excluded.

Diversity of cultured ammonia-oxidizing bacteria in the γ-subdivision of the Proteobacteria was investigated by using strains isolated from various parts of the world ocean. All the strains were very similar to each other on the basis of the sequences of both the 16S rRNA and ammonia monooxygenase genes and could be characterized as a single species. Sequences were also cloned directly from environmental DNA from coastal Pacific and Atlantic sites, and these sequences represented the first Nitrosococcus oceani -like sequences obtained directly from the ocean. Most of the environmental sequences clustered tightly with those of the cultivated strains, but some sequences could represent new species of Nitrosococcus . These findings imply that organisms similar to the cultivated N. oceani strains have a worldwide distribution.

Temporal and spatial dynamics of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) were examined using genes encoding 16S rRNA and ammonia monooxygenase subunit A (AmoA) in Monterey Bay, Calif. Samples were collected from three depths in the water column on four dates at one mid-bay station. Diversity estimators for the two genes showed a strong positive correlation, indicating that overlapping bacterial populations had been sampled by both sets of clone libraries. Some samples that were separated by only 15 m in depth had less genetic similarity than samples that were collected from the same depth months apart. Clone libraries from the Monterey Bay AOB community were dominated byNitrosospira-like sequences and clearly differentiated from the adjacent AOB community in Elkhorn Slough. Many Monterey Bay clones clustered with previously identified 16S rRNA andamoAgroups composed entirely of marine sequences, supporting the hypothesis that these groups are specific to the marine environment and are dominant marine AOB. In addition, novel, phylogenetically distinct groups of AOB sequences were identified and compared to sequences in the database. Only one cluster of gammaproteobacterial AOB was detected using 16S rRNA genes. Although significant genetic variation was detected in AOB populations from both vertical and temporal samples, no significant correlation was detected between diversity and environmental variables or the rate of nitrification.