Phylogenetic relationships ofThiomicrospira species and their identification in deep-sea hydrothermal vent samples by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of 16S rDNA fragments

DGGE analysis of PCR-amplified 16S rDNA fragments was used to explore the genetic diversity of hydrothermal vent microbial communities, specifically to determine the importance of sulfur-oxidizing bacteria therein, and identified three ‘phylotypes’ which represented a newThiomicrospira species, phylogenetically in an intermediate position between Tms.