Biogeography of Chemoautotrophic Symbioses in Marine Oligochaetes

本项目将研究海洋寡毛纲化学自养共生的生物地理学。目的是回答以下问题：共生体是物种特异性的吗？它们之间的系统发育关系，与其他海洋门的共生体以及与自由生活的细菌之间的关系是什么？单系寄主群内的共生体本身是单系寄主吗？如果它们没有与宿主共同进化，那么共生体的分布是否与其生态或地理分布平行？通过分析来自四个地理位置遥远的地方（百慕大、伯利兹、澳大利亚和新英格兰海岸）宿主体内原核共生体的核糖体RNA序列，可以用技术上直接的方法来解决这些问题。该项目的意义在于它能够首次描述一个以前未研究过的门的化学自养共生体的分类、系统发育和生物地理学。这些结果将显示共生的广泛分布，并有助于更好地了解海洋生境中化学自养共生的生物多样性。＊＊＊

Cavanaugh 9314457 This project will study the biogeography of chemoautotrophic symbioses in marine oligochaetes. The objectives are to answer the following questions: Are the symbionts species-specific? What are their phylogenetic relationships among each other, to symbionts from other marine phyla, and to free-living bacteria? Are the symbionts within a monophyletic host group themselves monophyletic? If they did not co-evolve with their host, is the symbiont distribution paralleled by its ecological or geographic distribution? These questions can be addressed with a technically straightforward approach by analyzing the ribosomal RNA sequences of the prokaryotic symbionts in hosts from four geographically distant locations (Bermuda, Belize, Australia and the New England coast). The significance of the project lies in its ability to characterize for the first time the taxonomy, phylogeny, and biogeography of chemoautotrophic symbionts in a phylum previously not investigated. The results will show how wide spread the symbioses are and contribute to a better understanding of the biodiversity of chemoautotrophic symbioses in marine habitats. ***