FREE DIAMINOPIMELIC ACID IN SYMBIOTIC BIV ALVES

Free amino acids were analyzed in tissues of symbiotic bivalves from h ydrothermal vent sites at Galapagos rift, and cold-seeps in Japan tren ch and Barbados subduction area. Diaminopimelic acid (a fragment of th e bacterial cell wall mureid complex) is, in some cases, one of the mo st abundant compounds. It's presence in the tissues of the bivalves is related to exchanges between host and symbionts. Diaminopimelate conc entration differences among species may correspond to both taxonomic b acterial differences and different carbon translocation processes from bacteria to host. Variation among individual may correspond to fluctu ation of micro-environmental conditions.