Description:
This thesis project dealt with the exploration of ectosymbiotic relationships between filamentous, sulfur-oxidizing Thiothrix bacteria and groundwater-inhabiting niphargid amphipods. In 2009, "the first known example of a non-marine chemoautotroph-animal symbiosis", involving Niphargus ictus amphipods and a single Thiothrix phylotype, was reported from sulfidic waters of the Frasassi caves in central Italy (Dattagupta et al., 2009). After the subsequent discovery of two more Frasassi-dwelling Niphargus species (Flot et al., 2010a), named Niphargus frasassianus and Niphargus montanarius (Kar...