Deep-Sea Lobster Microbiome | The Institute for Creation Research

Deep-Sea Lobster Microbiome
Research continues regarding complex and amazing microbiomes found on or within a variety of creatures.1 The microbiome is a microbial community occupying a specific habitat, such as bacteria (diptheroids) living on the surface of your skin, coliforms in your large intestine and possibly Corynebacterium mastitidis (C. mast) your eye.2

Recently, the submersible Alvin, which has long been known for its pioneering research and investigation in the deepest parts of the world’s oceans, has been investigating the depths of the Gulf of California.3 Specifically, researchers have been looking into and around hydrothermal vents on the seafloor.  

Such a black, cold and high-pressure environment is home to some truly bizarre communities. For example, a type of decapod crustacean called the squat lobster - Munidopsis alvisca - is among the organisms commonly found at hydrothermal vent sites in the Gulf of California. They were found to have bacteria living on their shell.

Scientists from the University of Oldenburg in Germany 

have conducted the first-ever analysis of the microbial community living on the carapaces of these crustaceans. They found significant differences between the composition of this microbiome and other microbial communities in the vicinity, such as those in the sediment or the surrounding seawater. . . The team suspects that both the microbes and the squat lobsters benefit from their close relationship. Numerous methane and sulfide-oxidizing bacteria were found to be among the inhabitants of the squat lobsters' carapaces.3

They think both the squat lobsters and the bacteria benefit from their intimate relationship, and  

speculate that for their part, the squat lobsters may use the bacteria living on their carapace as a source of nutrients. Another possibility is that the microbes help to remove toxic hydrogen sulfide from the crustaceans' bodies.3

"These microbes probably have a similar function to those that live on the skin of humans—namely, to defend their host," explains Prof. Dr. Thorsten Brinkhoff of the University of Oldenburg.3

Deep-sea microbiome investigation is still in its infant stages (the published interactions between crustaceans and microbes is sparse), but it is suggested the trillions of microbes in a typical deep-sea ecosystem are composed of creatures, many of which are designed to work in harmonious relationships with other organisms. In other words - a microbial community occupying a specific habitat, or a microbiome.

Looking at this inhospitable deep-sea relationship between crustacean and bacteria working together, in what appears to be a seamless operation, helps us to appreciate God’s design.

References
1. Sherwin, F. Applying Design Analysis to Microbiome Research. Creation Science Update. Posted on ICR.org January 29, 2016, accessed July 26, 2022.
2. Sherwin, F. The Designed Interface of the Eye's Microbiome. Creation Science Update. Posted on ICR.org April 30, 2018, accessed July 27, 2022.
3. Staff Writer. A mutually beneficial relationship between microbes and deep-sea crustaceans. PhysOrg. Posted on phys.org.com March 29, 2022, accessed July 26, 2022; Leinberger, J. et al. 2022. Microbial epibiotic community of the deep-sea galatheid squat lobster Munidopsis alvisca. Scientific Reports.

*Dr. Sherwin is Research Scientist at the Institute for Creation Research. He earned an M.A. in invertebrate zoology from the University of Northern Colorado and received an Honorary Doctorate of Science from Pensacola Christian College.
The Latest
NEWS
Freshwater Fish Fossil in Australia
Yet another fish fossil has been discovered. This one was found in the Australian desert and was dated by evolutionists to be “15 million years...

NEWS
May 2025 ICR Wallpaper
"Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." (Romans...

NEWS
Acoustic Communication in Animals
We are all familiar with vocalizations in the animal world. For example, dogs bark, birds sing, frogs croak, and whales send forth their own distinct...

ACTS & FACTS
Creation Kids: Crystals!
by Michael Stamp and Susan Windsor* You're never too young to be a creation scientist and explore our Creator's world. Kids, discover...

APOLOGETICS
Playing Chess with Little Furry Critters
God’s multifarious and marvelous designs for basic creature needs are so innovatively clever and providentially purposeful that Christ’s...

ACTS & FACTS
Credit Only Our Creator
History was my favorite subject as a young kid. But it always puzzled me when my teachers said, “We study history so that we don’t repeat...

ACTS & FACTS
Genomic Tandem Repeats: Where Repetition Is Purposely Adaptive
Tandem repeats (TRs) are short sequences of DNA repeated over and over again like the DNA letter sequence TACTACTAC, which is a repetition of TAC three...

ACTS & FACTS
Dinosaur National Monument: Fossil Graveyard of the Flood
Straddling the border of Utah and Colorado, Dinosaur National Monument (DNM) is one of the richest exposures of dinosaur fossils in the world.1...

ACTS & FACTS
The Transforming Influence of Genesis: Worker Dignity and Safety
When Pharisees questioned the Lord Jesus about marriage, He answered by quoting Genesis 1:27: “But from the beginning of the creation, God ‘made...

NEWS
Giant ''Meg'' Shark: Longer and Leaner?
Fossil remains of the giant shark Otodus megalodon have been found in Miocene1 and Pliocene2 rock layers, which ICR scientists...