- Library Home /
- Search Collections /
- Open Collections /
- Browse Collections /
- UBC Theses and Dissertations /
- Microbial ecology of deep-sea hydrothermal vents :...
Open Collections
UBC Theses and Dissertations
UBC Theses and Dissertations
Microbial ecology of deep-sea hydrothermal vents : viruses, diversity and potential mortality Ortmann, Alice Catherine
Abstract
Deep-sea hydrothermal vents have been intensely studied since their discovery almost 30 years ago. These environments have been shown to harbour previously unknown organisms, which depend on chemosynthetic prokaryotes for much of their nutrition. Although high abundances of free-living prokaryotes have been documented from many hydrothermal vent sites, the fate of prokaryotic biomass has not been well studied. The initial goal of this thesis was to determine the abundance and distribution of viruses in hydrothermal vent environments and to determine if the abundances were high enough to support the occurrence of virus-mediated mortality of prokaryotes. This study clearly demonstrated that around active hydrothermal vent sites the virus abundance could be as high as values reported from coastal surface waters. Increased abundances within active hydrothermal fields and associated plumes above background seawater levels suggest that viruses are actively produced in these environments. The effects of viruses on a prokaryote community are dependent on the species composition of the microorganisms. Few studies have investigated the spatial distribution of prokaryote species around hydrothermal vents. In this study, several samples were collected and individually analysed using PCR-DGGE to determine the composition of the prokaryote communities, targeting both Bacteria and Archaea. From these fingerprints, it was demonstrated that the microbial communities around hydrothermal vents are extremely heterogeneous, with little similarity between samples collected from similar locations or environments. Sequencing of DGGE bands suggests common phylotypes among widespread hydrothermal vent sites. Through grazing, protists could cause mortality of prokaryotes. Because little is known about the presence of protists around hydrothermal vents, samples collected around a single sulphide structure were analysed using PCR-DGGE to determine the diversity of the eukaryote community in the water column. Sequencing of major bands was undertaken to determine the identity of the bands with the hopes of identifying previously unknown protists that could be grazers of prokaryotes. This study shows that DNA from the benthic invertebrate community dominates the eukaryote DNA around hydrothermal vents, suggesting viruses may be the main cause of mortality for free-living prokaryotes.
Item Metadata
Title |
Microbial ecology of deep-sea hydrothermal vents : viruses, diversity and potential mortality
|
Creator | |
Publisher |
University of British Columbia
|
Date Issued |
2005
|
Description |
Deep-sea hydrothermal vents have been intensely studied since their discovery
almost 30 years ago. These environments have been shown to harbour previously
unknown organisms, which depend on chemosynthetic prokaryotes for much of their
nutrition. Although high abundances of free-living prokaryotes have been documented
from many hydrothermal vent sites, the fate of prokaryotic biomass has not been well
studied.
The initial goal of this thesis was to determine the abundance and distribution of
viruses in hydrothermal vent environments and to determine if the abundances were high
enough to support the occurrence of virus-mediated mortality of prokaryotes. This study
clearly demonstrated that around active hydrothermal vent sites the virus abundance
could be as high as values reported from coastal surface waters. Increased abundances
within active hydrothermal fields and associated plumes above background seawater
levels suggest that viruses are actively produced in these environments.
The effects of viruses on a prokaryote community are dependent on the species
composition of the microorganisms. Few studies have investigated the spatial
distribution of prokaryote species around hydrothermal vents. In this study, several
samples were collected and individually analysed using PCR-DGGE to determine the
composition of the prokaryote communities, targeting both Bacteria and Archaea. From
these fingerprints, it was demonstrated that the microbial communities around
hydrothermal vents are extremely heterogeneous, with little similarity between samples
collected from similar locations or environments. Sequencing of DGGE bands suggests
common phylotypes among widespread hydrothermal vent sites.
Through grazing, protists could cause mortality of prokaryotes. Because little is
known about the presence of protists around hydrothermal vents, samples collected
around a single sulphide structure were analysed using PCR-DGGE to determine the
diversity of the eukaryote community in the water column. Sequencing of major bands
was undertaken to determine the identity of the bands with the hopes of identifying
previously unknown protists that could be grazers of prokaryotes. This study shows that DNA from the benthic invertebrate community dominates the eukaryote DNA around
hydrothermal vents, suggesting viruses may be the main cause of mortality for free-living
prokaryotes.
|
Genre | |
Type | |
Language |
eng
|
Date Available |
2009-12-23
|
Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
|
Rights |
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.
|
DOI |
10.14288/1.0052454
|
URI | |
Degree | |
Program | |
Affiliation | |
Degree Grantor |
University of British Columbia
|
Graduation Date |
2005-05
|
Campus | |
Scholarly Level |
Graduate
|
Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
|
Item Media
Item Citations and Data
Rights
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.