Evidence for the Presence of Thermophilic Fe(III)-reducing Microorganisms in Deep-sea Hydrothermal Vents at 13 Degrees N (East Pacific Rise)

Microorganisms capable of dissimilatory Fe(III) reduction in the temperature range of 52-90 degrees C were enriched from outer and inner parts of chimney-like structures, tubes of the polychaetous annelid Alvinella sp., and hydrothermal fluids collected at 13 degrees N hydrothermal vent sites on the East Pacific Rise at a depth of 2650 m. Numbers of culturable Fe(III)-reducing thermophiles estimated by the serial dilution technique varied from 10 to 10(7) cells per cm(3) of sample. Phylogenetic analysis of bacterial and archaeal PCR-amplified 16S rDNA genes obtained from Fe(III)-reducing enrichments and separated by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis revealed sequences related to Deferibacter, Thermotogales (Bacteria) and Thermococcus (Archaea) for which the capacity for Fe(III) reduction had been reported. This was confirmed by isolating a hyperthermophilic iron reducer that belongs to the genus Thermococcus. Other bacterial thermophiles found in the enrichments were related to so far uncultured members of the Clostridiaceae, and epsilon-subdivision of the Proteobacteria.