Thesis (S.M.)--Joint Program in Biological Oceanography (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Biology; and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 2010. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 47-54). / At deep-sea hydrothermal vents chemolithoautotrophic microbes mediate the transfer of geothermal chemical energy to higher trophic levels. To better understand these underlying processes and the organisms catalyzing them, this research used DNA Stable Isotope Probing (SIP) combined with Catalyzed Activated Reporter Deposition-Fluorescence in situ Hybridization (CARD-FISH) to identify the microorganisms chemoautotrophically supporting the food web at a diffuse flow hydrothermal vent. Both anaerobic and aerobic shipboard incubations containing various augmented electron donor and acceptor species showed that Epsilonproteobacteria were the dominant chemoautotrophs with greater than 70% of the cells counted within the first 24 hours. 13C DNA SIP identified unique organisms not previously characterized from low temperature diffuse flow venting: green sulfur bacteria (Chlorobi-like organisms) possibly utilizing photoautotrophy, aerobic Lutibacter litoralis-like organisms growing under anaerobic conditions, and Epsilonproteobacterial Thioreductor sp. at temperatures above maximum known tolerances. This research illustrates both the promise and pitfalls of the SIP technique applied to hydrothermal systems, concluding that timing of the incubation experiments is the critical step in eliminating undesired 13C labeling. These results set the stage for a more thorough future examination of diffuse flow microorganisms by presenting interesting questions that second generation experiments could be designed to answer. / by Kevin Patrick Richberg. / S.M.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:MIT/oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/61888 |
| Date | January 2010 |
| Creators | Richberg, Kevin Patrick |
| Contributors | John Waterbury., Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution., Joint Program in Biological Oceanography., Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Biology., Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. |
| Publisher | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| Source Sets | M.I.T. Theses and Dissertation |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 54 p., application/pdf |
| Rights | M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission., http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 |
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