The article talks about the mussels known as Bathymodiolus that were found underneath the sea and their symbiotic bacteria as their food source.
The samples were taken from the ocean floor; the part of the ocean where the temperature is four degrees Celsius. The microbiologists have taken the samples via the submarine Alvin. From the submarine vessel upon resurfacing to the sea, the mussels have to be brought to the cold sea water having the same temperature from where the mussels were taken to prevent their death from the heat of the deck. Bathymodiolus is the scientific name of the chemosynthetic mussel that dwells in the cold seeps of the ocean floor. They are practically located at vents and seeps all over the world and for that reason that they are good for studying biogeography.
The microbiologists-researchers are interested in studying the mussels because of their host symbiotic bacteria in their gills. Mussels ordinarily found in shallow waters are filter-feeders however the deep-seated sea Bathymodiolus mussels utilize their symbiotic bacteria as their own internal food source. Such a fact could hold the answers to the success of the mussels in chemosynthetic surroundings. The bacteria are able to utilize or make use of power sources that the animals are unable to do. Compounds such as sulfide and methane are plentiful at vents and seeps of the ocean floor. The bacteria utilize the chemical energy kept in these said compounds to produce organic substance from carbon dioxide similar with how the plants produce their food with the use of the sunlight. The symbiotic bacteria produce organic substances as foods for the hosts, which are the mussels and the hosts in return give the bacteria the best living environment.
The microbiologists have discovered that the symbionts Bathymodiolus heckerae in the Gulf of Mexico are a lot strongly associated to the symbionts in species of mussels that are located in the western coast of Africa. The scientists could not help but wonder why the Bathymodiolus heckerae, Bathymodiolus childressi and Bathymodiolus brooksi have different symbionts with each other even though they are situated in close geographical locations in the Gulf of Mexico. Scientists are working hard to comprehend the closed relationship of the symbionts that are situated on converse sides of the Atlantic. The images under the microscope of the two kinds of symbionts of the Bathymodiolus brooksi are described in the article. As viewed through microscopy, the large circle indicates the methane oxidizing bacterium while the small circles are sulfide-oxidizing bacteria.
There are actually two types of bacteria that are included. The first type of the bacteria is able to utilize methane as a power source while the second type of bacteria is able to make use of the sulfide as the energy source. The manner in which the various species of mussels react with the two kinds of bacteria is enthralling. In the case of the bacteria discovered in the Gulf of Mexico, the microbiologists discovered the three various species of bacterial symbionts. They have seen that the two types of bacteria exist in Bathymodiolus brooksi and Bathymodiolus heckerae however only the methane-oxidizing bacteria are found in Bathymodiolus childressi. Researchers are still on study how the various species of mussels co-exists when their symbiosis schemes are varied from each other. They have also discovered how puzzling the genetics of the symbionts. Further, it is more mystifying that the nearest kin of the bacteria that oxidizes methane, which are found in the Gulf of Mexico is in the west coast of Africa making the research more interesting.
