Chemosynthetic symbionts of marine invertebrate animals are capable of nitrogen fixation

Chemosynthetic symbioses are partnerships between invertebrate animals and chemosynthetic bacteria. The latter are the primary producers, providing most of the organic carbon needed for the animal host's nutrition. We sequenced genomes of the chemosynthetic symbionts from the lucinid bivalve Loripes lucinalis and the stilbonematid nematode Laxus oneistus. The symbionts of both host species encoded nitrogen fixation genes. This is remarkable as no marine chemosynthetic symbiont was previously known to be capable of nitrogen fixation. We detected nitrogenase expression by the symbionts of lucinid clams at the transcriptomic and proteomic level. Mean stable nitrogen isotope values of Loripes lucinalis were within the range expected for fixed atmospheric nitrogen, further suggesting active nitrogen fixation by the symbionts. The ability to fix nitrogen may be widespread among chemosynthetic symbioses in oligotrophic habitats, where nitrogen availability often limits primary productivity.

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121 Mo
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1547 Ko
Supplementary Discussion, Supplementary References, Supplementary Tables 1–4, Supplementary Figures 1–6, legends for Supplementary Datasets 1 and 2
221 Mo
Transcriptome mapping results.
-1 Mo
Symbiont proteins identified in metaproteomes.
-1007 Ko
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Petersen Jillian M., Kemper Anna, Gruber-Vodicka Harald, Cardini Ulisse, van der Geest Matthijs, Kleiner Manuel, Bulgheresi Silvia, Mussmann Marc, Herbold Craig, Seah Brandon K. B., Antony Chakkiath Paul, Liu Dan, Belitz Alexandra, Weber Miriam (2017). Chemosynthetic symbionts of marine invertebrate animals are capable of nitrogen fixation. Nature Microbiology. 2 (1). 16195 (12p.). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmicrobiol.2016.195, https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00380/49100/

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