Feldman R A, Shank T M, Black M B, Baco A R, Smith C R, Vrijenhoek R C
Center for Theoretical and Applied Genetics, Cook College, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08903-0231, USA.
Biol Bull. 1998 Apr;194(2):116-9. doi: 10.2307/1543041.
Discovery of chemosynthetic communities associated with whale bones led to the hypothesis that whale falls may serve as stepping-stones for faunal dispersal between disjunct hydrothermal vents and cold seeps on the ocean floor (1). The initial observation was followed by a faunal inventory that revealed a diverse assemblage of microbes and invertebrates, supported by chemoautotrophic production, living in close proximity to whale remains (2, 3). To date, the conspicuous absence from whale falls of vestimentiferan tubeworms (a predominant constituent of eastern Pacific vent and seep habitats) has been a major objection to the stepping-stone hypothesis (4-5). We report the first evidence of a vestimentiferan tubeworm associated with a whale fall (Fig. 1). The tubeworm, Escarpia spicata, was identified by morphological criteria and DNA sequence data from a portion of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase C subunit I (COI) gene. Additionally, the bacterial endosymbiont in the tubeworm possessed a 16S rRNA gene that was similar to that of endosymbionts from vestimentiferans in sedimented cold-seep environments.
与鲸骨相关的化学合成群落的发现引发了这样一种假说，即鲸落可能充当了动物在海底不连续的热液喷口和冷泉之间扩散的跳板（1）。最初的观察之后是一次动物清查，结果显示在鲸尸附近生活着由化学自养生产支持的各种微生物和无脊椎动物（2, 3）。迄今为止，鲸落中明显没有巨型管虫（东太平洋喷口和冷泉栖息地的主要组成部分），这一直是对跳板假说的主要反对意见（4 - 5）。我们报告了首个与鲸落相关的巨型管虫的证据（图1）。通过形态学标准和来自线粒体细胞色素氧化酶C亚基I（COI）基因一部分的DNA序列数据鉴定出了这种管虫，即斯氏艾氏蚓（Escarpia spicata）。此外，该管虫体内的细菌内共生体拥有一个16S rRNA基因，该基因与沉积冷泉环境中巨型管虫的内共生体的16S rRNA基因相似。
