Sabella spallanzanii filter-feeding on bacterial community: ecological implications and applications

The filtration process of Sabella spallanzanii Gmelin on bacterial community was studied in a coastal area of the Northern Ionian Sea (Mediterranean Sea) at three sites, S. Vito, Lido Gandoli and Lido Silvana, where some specimens of S. spallanzanii were transplanted. Analyses were performed both on water and worm samples. A total of six microbial groups were examined: culturable heterotrophic bacteria, total culturable bacteria at 37 degrees C, culturable vibrios, total and fecal coliforms and fecal streptococci. The bacterial densities were usually orders of magnitude higher in the worm homogenates than in the corresponding seawater and the highest values were observed in August. The ability of S. spallanzanii to accumulate the microbial pollution indicators suggests this species can be employed as a bioindicator for monitoring water quality. Moreover, the accumulation capability of S. spallanzanii for specific micro-organisms provides a potential role in sewage bioremediation.     

Filter-feeder macroinvertebrates as key players in culturable bacteria biodiversity control: a case of study with Sabella spallanzanii (Polychaeta: Sabellidae)

The present study investigates the effect of the filtering activity of Sabella spallanzanii on the culturable heterotrophic bacterial community through the comparison of the bacterial diversity in transplanted polychaetes and the surrounding seawater. For isolation of culturable heterotrophic bacteria, seawater samples as well as polychaete homogenates were plated in triplicates onto Bacto Marine Agar 2216 (Difco). All the colonies grown were isolated, subcultured and identified by several morphological, biochemical and cultural methods. Some bacterial genera showed higher average abundances in polychaetes than in seawater (i.e. Lucibacterium and Photobacterium). Aeromonas represented a conspicuous component of the bacterial community both in S. spallanzanii and seawater. The presence of Cytophaga and Pseudomonas was also relevant in the examined seawater samples. The selective concentrations of some bacterial genera inside S. spallanzanii either by grazing on bacteria or their capability as bacterial reservoirs, provides evidence for the role of macrobenthic invertebrates as key determinants for microbial diversity.     

Heterotrophic bacteria in the northern Adriatic Sea: seasonal changes and ectoenzyme profile

A seasonal study of the quantitative and qualitative distribution of heterotrophic bacterial community was carried out in the Adriatic Sea between April 1995 and January 1996, in order to evaluate its spatial and temporal variability and metabolic potential in the degradation processes of organic matter. The culturable bacteria (CFU) ranged between 0.1 and 22% of total bacterioplankton with a maximum percentage in surface samples of coastal zones. Their distribution was generally affected by the prevailing hydrological conditions. At the coastal stations about 44-75% of CFU variance could be explained by river runoff. The changes in the composition of heterotrophic bacterial community showed a seasonal succession of main bacterial groups, with a prevalence of Gram negative, non fermenting bacteria in the cold period (April-January) and an increase of Vibrionaccae and pigmented bacteria in summer. The seasonal variations were more important at the stations influenced by rivers than offshore. The bacterial community showed a greater versatility for organic polymers hydrolysis in the offshore station than in the coastal areas. Over 60% of all isolated heterotrophic bacteria expressed peptidase, lipase and phosphatase ectoenzymes activities, in all seasons and showed an increasing trend in warm period (in July October). The alpha- and beta-glucosidase potentials of bacteria were lower (20% on average) and showed different pattern during the year. These results suggest different role of the bacterial community in the decomposition of organic matter in the Adriatic Sea. Since only 20% of bacterial strains expressed glucosidase activity, carbohydrate-rich polymers such as mucilage might accumulate.     

Bacterial accumulation by Branchiomma luctuosum (Annelida: Polychaeta): a tool for biomonitoring marine systems and restoring polluted waters

In this study, we examined the bacterial accumulation in the filter feeder polychaete Branchiomma luctuosumGrube (Sabellidae). Analyses were performed on worm homogenates from 'unstarved' and 'starved' individuals, and seawater from the same sampling site (Gulf of Taranto, Western Mediterranean, Italy). Densities of culturable heterotrophic bacteria (22 degrees C), total culturable bacteria at 37 degrees C and halophilic vibrios at 22 and 35 degrees C were measured on Marine Agar 2216, Plate Count Agar and thiosulphate-citrate-bile-salt-agar (TCBS) plus 2% NaCl, respectively. Total and faecal coliforms as well as faecal streptococci were determined by the Most Probable Number method. Results showed that B. luctuosum is able to accumulate all the considered six microbiological groups with a higher efficiency for autochthonous bacteria. The analysis also indicated that bacterial groups differ in their resistance to digestion by B. luctuosum. Our data suggest the potential role of B. luctuosum as an useful bioindicator to assess low levels of microbiological water pollution as well as bioremediator of microbial polluted waters.     

Influence of pollution history on the response of coastal bacterial and nanoeukaryote communities to crude oil and biostimulation assays

Pollution history has often been proposed to explain site-dependent bioremediation efficiencies, but this hypothesis has been poorly explored. Here, bacteria and their heterotrophic nanoflagellates (HNF) predators originating from pristine and chronically oil-polluted coastal sites were subjected to crude oil ± nutrients or emulsifier amendments. The addition of crude oil had a more visible effect on bacteria originating from the pristine site with a higher increase in the activity of given OTU and inactivation of other petroleum-sensitive bacteria, as revealed by DNA and RNA-based comparison. Such changes resulted in a delay in microbial growth and in a lower bacterial degradation of the more complex hydrocarbons. Biostimulation provoked a selection of different bacterial community assemblages and stirred metabolically active bacteria. This resulted in a clear increase of the peak of bacteria and their HNF predators and higher oil degradation, irrespective of the pollution history of the site.     

Abundance and biomass of heterotrophic microbes in the Kongsfjorden, Svalbard

1Introduction Heterotrophicmicrobesarenowconsideredtobe significantcomponentsofthestructureandfunctionof marinepelagicecosystems.Heterotrophicbacteriacon- stituteamajorpoolofbiomassinopenecosystem (WilhelmandSuttle,1999).Theyconsumealargepor- tionofprimaryproduction(Li,1998;Sherryetal., 2002;Lietal.,2004),andtheymineralizemostofthe dissolvedorganiccarbonthattheyconsume(Azamet al.,1983;Richetal.,1997;Azam,1998).Therolesof planktonicprotists,suchasheterotrophicflagellates andciliates,inmicro…     

Heterotrophic bacteria community and pollution indicators of mussel--farm impact in the Gulf of Gaeta (Tyrrhenian Sea).

Field studies were carried out to determine and compare the impact of organic loads due to the biodeposition of a mussel farm on the water quality and sediment in a coastal area of the Tyrrhenian Sea (Western Mediterranean). A total of five environmental and five microbial parameters were examined from March, 1997 to February, 1998 on a monthly basis at three stations: the first was located under the mussel farm, the second located at about 40 m away from the mussel farm, while the third designed as a control was at about 1-km. No clear changes in the physical characteristics of the water masses were observed, comparing the three sampling sites and the water column generally showed homogeneous conditions (in terms of temperature and salinity). Changes in density of aerobic heterotrophic bacteria, Escherichia coli and Enterococci in the water column are apparently independent from changes in environmental parameters. At all stations a constant significant correlation between temperature and presumptive Vibrio parahaemolyticus was reported suggesting that this abiotic factor exerted a major control on this bacterial group and its distribution in the water column is not related to the biodeposition of the mussel farm. The major impact identified was on the sediment where variations in bacterial abundance was observed. In the Mussel station sediment enrichment of organic compounds, and the consequent modification of the characteristics of the benthic environment, determined an increase in aerobic heterotrophic bacteria, and particularly of vibrios density (on average about 60%), suggesting that these bacteria are good indicators of organic enrichment.     

北部湾北部海域水体异养细菌的时空分布特征研究

为探讨环境因素对异养细菌丰度的影响,2016年9月至2017年8月通过月度航次调查对北部湾北部海域异养细菌丰度的时空分布特征进行了系统研究。结果表明,调查海区异养细菌丰度介于（2.75~56.86）×105 cell/mL,平均值为（11.01±6.31）×105 cell/mL。各季节细菌丰度从高至低依次为:夏季、春季、冬季、秋季。异养细菌丰度由近岸海域向西南深水区方向逐渐降低,在近岸浅水区垂直分布均匀,在水深大于20 m的海区出现季节性分层现象:表层细菌丰度较高,底层细菌丰度较低。主成分分析显示温度对异养细菌时空分布有重要影响,秋、冬季异养细菌丰度与温度呈显著负相关,在春、夏季呈显著正相关。细菌丰度与盐度呈显著负相关,说明海水盐度变化是细菌时空分布重要影响因素。异养细菌丰度与叶绿素a和溶解氧含量呈显著正相关,表明浮游植物初级生产过程影响了异养细菌的时空分布。在秋、冬和春3季异养细菌丰度与营养盐水平呈显著负相关,二者关系受浮游植物生物量间接影响。异养细菌时空分布差异取决于环境条件的变化,温度、盐度、叶绿素a和溶解氧含量是影响异养细菌丰度分布的主要因素。     

基于浒苔暴发海水池塘的微生物生态特征研究

为研究浒苔对海水养殖环境微生物生态的影响,采用Illumia高通量测序技术测定冬季垦区进水区、浒苔暴发的池塘和排水区水体以及底泥中菌群结构,分析进水区、池塘养殖区和排水区的环境微生物结构演变过程。结果表明:（1）γ-变形细菌、α-变形细菌、放线菌、拟杆菌和δ-变形细菌为海水养殖区的优势细菌门类;（2）进水区水体和底泥微生物种类和多样性指数均高于浒苔池塘和排水区;浒苔暴发的池塘和排水区微生物群落结构较为相似;（3）浒苔池塘的水体微生物以异养细菌为主,底泥以脱硫杆菌等厌氧细菌为主,增加了底泥潜在产生硫化氢的危害;（4）进水区水体含有丰度较高的弧菌和鱼立克次氏体等条件致病性病原菌,而浒苔池塘中含量较低,说明浒苔对弧菌等有一定的抑制作用;但浒苔暴发的池塘和排水区中另一种潜在致病菌黄杆菌类的丰度较高,养殖品种务必防患此类病菌感染疾病的发生。本文从微生态学角度全面揭示浒苔对近岸海区、海水池塘和排水区微生态演变过程的影响,发现了浒苔具有抑制和增加不同致病菌的双重作用,这对水产养殖有一定指导,也为浒苔发生原因、预报、预防等研究提供一定理论参考。     

The role of water mass dynamics in controlling bacterial abundance and production in the middle Adriatic Sea

Month-to-month fluctuations in the abundance of bacteria and heterotrophic nanoflagellates (HNF) and bacterial production, as well as various chemical (nutrients, oxygen) and physical (salinity, temperature) parameters were analysed at a station located in the open middle Adriatic Sea during one decade (1997-2006). Being influenced by both coastal waters and open Adriatic circulation in the surface layer, and by the deep Adriatic water masses in the deep layers (100 m), this station is quite suitable for detecting the environmental changes occurring in the open Adriatic Sea with respect to the circulation of its water masses and their long-term changes and anomalies. Multivariate methods were used to identify seasonal and inter-annual changes of the investigated parameters, associating observed changes to the changes in Adriatic water masses and circulation regimes. The analyses showed that bacterial abundance and production were controlled by different water mass dynamics during 1997-2001 compared to 2002-2006 period, particularly noticeable in different seasonal patterns of biological parameters. The interplay between North Adriatic Dense Water (NAdDW) and Levantine Intermediate Water (LIW) resulted in a change in the available nutrients (NAdDW is poor in orthophosphates), and as a consequence different bacterial abundance and production. A few periods were examined in detail, such as 2004, when LIW inflow was particularly strong and was accompanied by an increase of bacterial and HNF abundances, as well as of bacterial production.     

Variation in microbial biomass and community structure in sediments of peter the great bay (sea of japan/east sea), as estimated from fatty acid biomarkers

Variation in the microbial biomass and community structure found in sediment of heavily polluted bays and the adjacent unpolluted areas were examined using phospholipid fatty acid analysis. Total microbial biomass and microbial community structure were responding to environmental determinants, sediment grain size, depth of sediment, and pollution due to petroleum hydrocarbons. The marker fatty acids of microeukaryotes and prokaryotes - aerobic, anaerobic, and sulfate-reducing bacteria -were detected in sediments of the areas studied. Analysis of the fatty acid profiles revealed wide variations in the community structure in sediments, depending on the extent of pollution, sediment depth, and sediment grain size. The abundance of specific bacterial fatty acids points to the dominance of prokaryotic organisms, whose composition differed among the stations. Fatty acid distributions in sediments suggest the high contribution of aerobic bacteria. Sediments of polluted sites were significantly enriched with anaerobic bacteria in comparison with clean areas. The contribution of this bacterial group increased with the depth of sediments. Anaerobic bacteria were predominantly present in muddy sediments, as evidenced from the fatty acid profiles. Relatively high concentrations of marker fatty acids of sulfate-reducing bacteria were associated with organic pollution in this site. Specific fatty acids of microeukaryotes were more abundant in surface sediments than in deeper sediment layers. Among the microeukaryotes, diatoms were an important component. Significant amounts of bacterial biomass, the predominance of bacterial biomarker fatty acids with abundance of anaerobic and sulfate-reducing bacteria are indicative of a prokaryotic consortium responsive to organic pollution.     

Diurnal changes in bacterial communities in oxic surface and hypoxic middle seawater layers of the Changjiang River Estuary

The Changjiang River Estuary(CRE) in the East China Sea suffers from seasonal hypoxia in summer. The vertical distributions and seasonal changes of microbial communities in the CRE were well documented. However, little is known about the diurnal changes of bacterial communities in the hypoxic zone of the CRE. Here, 16 S rRNA gene analysis was used to explore the changes of bacterial communities in the oxic surface and hypoxic middle seawater layers during 24 h in the CRE. Significant differences between the hypoxic and oxic layers were observed:the phyla Cyanobacteria, Bacteroidetes and Acidimicrobiia were enriched in the oxic layer, whereas the phylum SAR406 and the class Deltaproteobacteria were more abundant in the hypoxic layer. In addition, some subtle diurnal variations of the bacterial relative abundance were found in both two layers. The relative abundance of Synechococcus increased at night, and this change was more obvious in the hypoxic layer. The similar trend was also found in some phototrophic and several heterotrophic bacteria, such as Rhodobacteraceae, OM60 and Flavobacteriaceae. Their relative abundances peaked at 16:00 in the oxic layer, while the relative abundances peaked at around 7:00 and decreased until 13:00 in the hypoxic layer. Together, the results of the present study suggest that some photosynthetic bacteria and several heterotrophic bacteria have similar diurnal variations implying the light and physicochemical heterogeneity in the course of a day are important for bacterial diurnal changes in the CRE.     

Microzooplankton feeding impact in a coastal upwelling system on the NW Iberian margin: The Ría de Vigo

The dilution technique, combined with identification and enumeration of pico-, nano- and micro-plankton by microscopy, was used to estimate microzooplankton impact on the microbial community in surface waters of a coastal embayment on the NW Iberian upwelling system. Microzooplankton were important consumers of autotrophic and heterotrophic plankton in this system, feeding up to 93% of standing stock and more than 100% of production of several groups. Heterotrophic bacteria and heterotrophic picoflagellates experienced the highest and constant impact, with 75–84% of their standing stocks and 85–102% of their production being channelled through the microbial food web. Pico- and nano-phytoplankton were also consumed, although maximum grazing occurred on diatoms during upwelling events, coinciding with highest primary production. Predation on pico-nano-heterotrophs was especially relevant under downwelling conditions, when consumption of total carbon and particularly autotrophic carbon was considerably lower than during upwelling. The results suggest that the existence of a multivorous food web, extending from the microbial loop to the herbivorous food web, could be a major feature in this coastal upwelling system. The microbial loop, which occurs as a permanent background in the system, would contribute to sustain the microbial food web during downwelling, whereas the herbivorous food web could coexist with a microbial food web based on large diatoms during upwelling. The multivorous food web would partially divert diatoms from sinking and hence favour the retention of organic matter in the water column. This could enhance the energy transfer to higher pelagic trophic levels in coastal upwelling systems.     

Heterotrophic bacteria of the Dapeng Bay in the South China Sea: community structure, abundance, and the relationships of culturablity with environmental factors

The community composition,abundance and culturablity of heterotrophic bacterioplankton in the Dapeng Bay of the South China Sea were investigated by morphological method,bacterial cultivation and biochemical methods over an annual cycle.Aeromonas and Pseudomonas were the predominant genera among the Gram-negative bacteria.The bacterioplankton abundance fluctuated from 2.07×10 8 to 2.44×10 9 cells/dm 3 ,and culturable bacteria abundance ranged between 0.1×10 6 and 16.07×10 6 CFU/dm 3 .The Culturablity of heterotrophic bacteria ranged between 0.01% and 1.31%.The relationship between bacterial culturablity and the environmental factors was also studied in different sites of the Dapeng Bay.Throughout the bay,a significantly positive relationship was evidenced between bacterial culturability and temperature,meanswhile bacterial culturability was significantly inversely related with salinity.The positive relationship was shown at the central bay while a negative relationship was observed at the bay mouth and there was no significant correlation at top bay between bacterial culturablity and chlorophyll a of sea water.A positive relationship was found between culturability and DIN all the bay,but DIP showed a significantly negative relationship with bacterial culturability only at the mouth of the bay.     

Bacterial communities fluctuate in abundance and diversity under simulated oil-contaminated seawater conditions

Marine bacteria have recently been identified as a potent solution for petroleum hydrocarbon degradation in response to hazardous oceanic oil spills. In this study, a mesocosm experiment simulating a petroleum spill event was performed to investigate changes in the abundance, structure, and productivity of bacterial communities in response to oil pollution. Cultured heterotrophic bacteria and total bacteria showed a consistent trend involving an immediate decrease in abundance, followed by a slight increase, and a steady low-level thereafter. However, the changing trend of bacterial productivity based on bacterial biomass and bacterial volume showed the opposite trend. In addition, the density of oil-degrading bacteria increased initially, then subsequently declined. The change in the bacterial community structure at day 0 and day 28 were also analyzed by amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis (ARDRA), which indicated that the species diversity of the bacterial community changed greatly after oil pollution. Alphaproteobacteria (40.98%) replaced Epsilonproteobacteria (51.10%) as the most abundant class, and Gammaproteobacteria (38.80%) became the second most dominant class in the whole bacterial community. The bacterial communities in oil-contaminated seawater (32 genera) became much more complex than those found in the natural seawater sample (16 genera). The proportion of petroleum-degrading bacteria in the oil-contaminated seawater also increased. In this study, culture-dependent and culture-independent approaches were combined to elucidate changes in both bacterial productivity and community structure. These findings will contribute to a better understanding of the role that bacteria play in material cycling and degradation in response to oil pollution.     

Diel microbial variations at a coastal Northern Adriatic station affected by Po River outflows

Diel sampling was performed during an early spring survey in the Northern Adriatic Sea at a coastal station off the Po River delta. Samples were taken every 6 h at spring tide maxima and minima in the sub-superficial layer, at the maximum fluorescence depth (∼3 m). Variations in microbial community structure and its processes were assessed by considering heterotrophic bacteria, picocyanobacteria, viruses, exoenzymatic activities, microphytoplankton, nanoplankton and bacterial/cyanobacterial Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (DGGE) profiles. A considerable diatom bloom, mostly supported by Skeletonema marinoi was detected. All microbial parameters except viruses, showed a sinusoidal trend with a 12 h period; only picocyanobacteria expressed relative maxima during high tide, showing a phase in opposition to the other parameters. No substantial changes in DGGE band patterns were detected. Even though the results showed bacterial activities to be influenced by the phytoplankton bloom, all microbial parameters' diel trends (except viruses) preferentially followed the tidal fluctuation rather than the light:dark cycle.     

Microbial communities in the coastal surface waters of Zolotoi Rog Bay under the conditions of strong anthropogenic pollution

Using the example of Zolotoi Rog Bay, which is strongly affected by anthropogenic pollution, it was shown that organic pollution essentially influences the structure of the microbial community, causing changes not only in the quantitative but also in the qualitative parameters such as the morphology, the type of metabolism, and the physiological activity of the microorganisms. We noted a zonation in the development and distribution of bacterioplankton, including the heterotrophic microflora in Zolotoi Rog Bay, which is caused by the high density of bacteria at the sites of organic matter supply and their low density in other areas examined, which are less influenced by the sewage. Special ecotrophic groups of microorganisms that are capable of utilizing the organic substratum entering the environment due to the anthropogenic impact become dominating in the heterotrophic microbial biocoenoses.     

乳山湾的污染与异养微生物的调查分析

于1985年5—10月定期采取了乳山湾内和岸边养虾池的水样及底泥进行了异养微生物的分析。菌数的平均值池内高于湾内,其最高值和水中COD的最高值同时出现在养虾旺季的8月份。在湾泥和池泥中的硫酸盐还原菌数均高达10~6个/克以上,与同期内硫化物的最高含量(326mgS/kg)相一致。并发现病原性弧菌也广泛存生。异养菌种群的组成,假单胞杆菌占有最大的比值,反映出该水域为污染类型。上述结果表明该湾的水质条件已远超出国家渔业水质标准,呈现高度的有机物污染状态,其污染源与湾边周围开展大面积的养虾有关。     

北黄海微表层细菌丰度与可培养细菌群落结构分析

为分析海洋微表层这一特殊生境中的细菌类群,于2010—2011年4个航次对北黄海微表层和次表层海水中的总菌丰度、可培养细菌丰度和群落结构进行了分析。采用流式细胞仪测定总菌丰度,平板计数法测定可培养细菌丰度,PCR-16SrDNA分析可培养细菌的群落结构。结果表明,调查海域微表层海水总菌均值为1.76×106 cell/mL,次表层海水总菌均值为1.07×106 cell/mL。可培养细菌丰度范围是1.00×102~1.70×106 CFU/mL,微表层和次表层可培养细菌所占总菌数量的百分比分别为13.05%和0.45%。微表层对总菌的富集因子(EF)均值为2.02,可培养细菌的EF均值为74.16。PCR-16SrDNA序列分析结果表明,该海域可培养细菌分属变形菌门(Proteobacteria)(94.34%)、厚壁菌门(Firmicutes)(1.89%)、拟杆菌门(Bacteroidetes)(1.89%)和放线菌门(Actinobacteria)(1.89%)4个类群。本研究初步发现,微表层对细菌具有较强的聚集作用,尤其对可培养细菌聚集作用更为明显。微表层中可培养细菌的群落结构与次表层有所不同,其种类丰富,来源和功能多样。由此可见,微表层独特的生境成就了其独特的微生物类群,其生态功能有待于进一步研究。