Variability In Bacterial Biological Processes At the Tica Vent (9° N) On The Eastern Pacific Rise Using Peptide Analysis

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to observe and determine how proteins vary near hydrothermal vents over a period of 9 months. Microbial communities found at hydrothermal vents thrive off the chemicals released from the plumes and hydrothermal fluid, using chemosynthesis to convert those chemicals into energy. The white smoker bacterial community located at the Tica vent (9°50.4 N, 104°17.5 W) on the East Pacific Rise, was observed for its protein variability over a 9-month period in 2004 between February and November. The dataset used in this study was acquired by Sievert et al. between 2004-2006 and compares the change of concentration of proteins over a 9-month period in 2004. Protein sequences were created from 16s rRNA gene analysis of biofilms on basalt panels located at the Tica vent site where a colony of tubeworms and mussels resided (experiment) and 2.5 m from the colony (control). Conversion of RNA data to peptide sequences allowed for evaluation of the biochemical processes occurring in the microbes living on the basalt. Over the course of the 9- month period, the samples became more microbially diverse in their proteins over time. The biological process GO-terms had an increase over the 9-month period with some GO terms having an inversely proportional trend to the GO terms that were increasing.