DSN friend and colleague Dr. Christina Kellogg published a new paper this month characterizing the bacterial assemblages of deep Lophelia pertusa coral in the Gulf of Mexico.
Two Lophelia-specific bacterial groups were identified: a cluster of gammaproteobacteria related to sulfide-oxidizing gill symbionts of seep clams and a group of Mycoplasma spp. The presence of these groups in both Gulf and Norwegian Lophelia corals indicates that in spite of the geographic heterogeneity observed in Lophelia-associated bacterial communities, there are Lophelia-specific microbes.
You can read much much more at the new CoralMicrobes blog. This looks like a great resource for microbiologists and coral fans. I look forward to reading. Stop on by and say hello.
Citation:
Kellogg, C., Lisle, J., & Galkiewicz, J. (2009). Culture-Independent Characterization of Bacterial Communities Associated with the Cold-Water Coral Lophelia pertusa in the Northeastern Gulf of Mexico Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 75 (8), 2294-2303 DOI: 10.1128/AEM.02357-08
Thanks for mentioning CM.org! It is much appreciated. We are just getting going – I think that it’ll be evolving over time. I’ve always enjoyed your site – and I always come here and learn something, which is quite a fun thing!