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Abstract
Many deep-sea organisms need hydrostatic pressure for their survival. Thus, when retrieved from their natural environment for biological studies that cannot be conducted at the bottom of ocean, they must be returned to high pressure using appropriate pressure vessels. Our studies of organisms living at deep-sea hydrothermal vents lead us to develop such pressure vessels. Here, we present a system of small pressure reactors that were specifically conceived for the study of embryonic development, but may be also used for the study of small organisms, larvae, cells or bacteria. The system consists of two reactors fed by a common pressure line which can be manipulated separately using a set of valves. It is possible to carry out different operations (renewal of water, sampling) without depressurizing the reactors, a feature which proves crucial when carrying out long-term development experiments (over several days). The system has special chambers equipped with sapphire windows that allow the observation of embryos under pressure using a standard optical microscope. Using this system, we studied for the first time the embryonic development of Alvinella pompejana, one of the most intriguing species colonizing the hydrothermal vents.
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank captains and crew of research vessels Atalante and Atlantis, along with operational teams for deep submersibles Alvin, Nautile and ROV Victor 6000. The authors are grateful to F. Lallier, C. Young, N. Le Bris, chief scientists of the HOPE, EPR 2000 and PHARE cruises, respectively. The authors wish to thank V. Arslanyan for technical assistance. The authors also acknowledge support from the University Pierre et Marie Curie, the CNRS Geomex program and the French Dorsales program.