Shana K Goffredi, Balig Panossian, Camille Brzechffa, Naomi Field, Chad King, Giacomo Moggioli, Greg W Rouse, José M Martín-Durán, Lee M Henry
Osedax, the deep-sea annelid found at sunken whalefalls, is known to host Oceanospirillales bacterial endosymbionts intracellularly in specialized roots, which help it feed exclusively on vertebrate bones. Past studies, however, have also made mention of external bacteria on their trunks. During a 14-yr study, we reveal a dynamic, yet persistent, shift of Campylobacterales integrated into the epidermis of Osedax , which change over time as the whale carcass degrades on the sea floor. The Campylobacterales associated with seven species of Osedax , which comprise 67% of the bacterial community on the trunk, appear initially dominated by the genus Arcobacter (at early time points <24 mo), the Sulfurospirillum at intermediate stages (~50 mo), and the Sulfurimonas at later stages (>140 mo) of whale carcass decomposition...
June 29, 2023: MBio