CHARACTERIZATION OF THE GILL SYMBIONT OF THYASIRA-FLEXUOSA (THYASIRIDAE, BIVALVIA) BY USE OF POLYMERASE CHAIN-REACTION AND 16S RIBOSOMAL-RNA SEQUENCE-ANALYSIS

Comparative molecular sequence (16S rRNA) analysis methods were used to identify and characterize the symbionts of Thyasira flexuosa independently of pure culture techniques and to compare these symbionts with the previously reported putative symbiont isolate, Thiobacillus thyasiris TG-2 (A. P. Wood and D. P. Kelly, Arch. Microbiol. 152:160-166, 1989). Polymerase chain reaction amplification using 16S rRNA primers specific for eubacteria was used to amplify a single unique sequence from the gill tissue of T. flexuosa. This sequence is phylogenetically most closely related to the 16S rRNA genes of known symbionts of lucinid clams and is distinct from those determined for strain TG-2 and other known bacteria. Strain TG-2 most closely resembles a free-living, chemolithoautotrophic bacterium known to be associated with the surfaces of thiotrophic bivalve shells, suggesting that this strain is a contaminant and not the authentic intracellular symbiont of T. flexuosa.