Data report: exploring the presence of Bdellovibrio and like organisms in deep-sea sediment by culture-independent and culture-dependent methods

Given the diversity of bacteria in the deep ocean, it is logical to assume that among them are bacterial predators that play a role in cycling of nutrients and structuring of prey communities, just as they do in other ecosystems. Although bacterial predators are commonly found in the open ocean, there have not been targeted studies on them in the subseafloor. The goal of this study was to investigate the presence, diversity, and distribution of the predatory bacteria Bdellovibrio and like organisms (BALOs) in subseafloor sediments from the South China Sea. Our specific objectives were to detect BALOs in deep-sea sediment and basalt collected during International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 349 using molecular and culture methods to test the susceptibility of both deepsea and marine bacteria, including human pathogens, to the recovered isolates, and to determine the similarity of newly discovered deep-sea predators to known isolates through 16S rRNA sequences cataloged in GenBank. Although previously detected by others using culture-independent methods in other settings, BALOs were not detected by either culture-dependent or culture-independent methods in this preliminary investigation.