Phylogenetic characterization of the bacterial assemblage associated with mucous secretions of the hydrothermal vent polychaete Paralvinella palmiformis.

As part of an ongoing examination of microbial diversity associated with hydrothermal vent polychaetes of the family Alvinellidae, we undertook a culture-independent molecular analysis of the bacterial assemblage associated with mucous secretions of the Northeastern Pacific vent polychaete Paralvinella palmiformis. Using a molecular 16S rDNA-based phylogenetic approach, clone libraries were constructed from two samples collected from active sulfide edifices in two hydrothermal vent fields. In both cases, clone libraries were largely dominated by epsilon-Proteobacteria.