Microbial ecology concerning to the degradation of nucleic acid in the marine environment

This article summarizes the author's current work on microbial degradation of nucleic acid. The aim of this work is to elucidate parts of the saprogenic process in the marine ecosystem through the study of the behavior of nucleic acid-hydrolyzing bacteria inhabiting seawater and sediments.Considerably large population of nucleic acid-hydrolyzing bacteria was found to occur in seawater and sediments. The main genera of these microbes areVibrio spp. in coastal seas, andPseudomonas spp. in the oceanic waters. As a result of microbial attack, nucleic acid components are released into seawater. The properties of extracellular nuclease produced by a marineVibrio sp. are well adapted to the seawater environment; consequently this enzyme has high activity and stability in seawater. By determining nuclease activity in seawater and sediments, the intensities of nucleic acid-hydrolysisin situ were evaluated.Distribution patterns of marine bacteria are also discussed in reference to the occurrence of phytoplankton in seawater.     

Phylogenetic diversity of carbohydrate degrading culturable bacteria from Mandovi and Zuari estuaries,Goa, west coast of India

Coastal and estuarine waters are highly productive and dynamic ecosystems. The complex carbohydrate composition of the ecosystem would lead to colonisation of microbial communities with abilities to produce an array of complex carbohydrate degrading enzymes. We have examined the abundance and phylogenetic diversity of culturable bacteria with abilities to produce complex carbohydrate degrading enzymes in the Mondovi and Zuari eustauri. It was interesting to note that 65% of isolated bacteria could produce complex carbohydrate degrading enzymes. A majority of these bacteria belonged to Bacillus genera followed by Vibrio, Marinobacter, Exiquinobacterium, Alteromonas, Enterobacter and Aeromonas. Most abundant bacterial genus to degrade hemicellulose and cellulose were Bacillus and Vibrio respectively. Most abundant bacterial genus to degrade hemicellulose and cellulose were Bacillus and Vibrio respectively. It was seen that 46% of Bacillus had ability to degrade both the substrate while only 14% of Vibrio had bifunctionality.     

Detection of Vibrio (Listonella) Anguillarum Porin Homologue Proteins and Their Source Bacteria from Coastal Seawater

The molecular distribution of dissolved proteins in seawater from coastal marine environments in Uranouchi Bay, Kochi Prefecture, is first reported in this article. Occurrence of bacteria-derived dissolved proteins and their source bacteria were examined using a probe of the antibody (anti-Omp35La) against a porin outer membrane protein (Omp35La) of the fish pathogenic bacterium Vibrio (Listonella) anguillarum. The electrophoretograms of dissolved proteins from coastal seawater showed a large number of discrete and individual proteins overlapped each other over a wide range of molecular masses indicating active processes in coastal environments in transferring proteins from organisms to the inanimate dissolved protein pool. Among the dissolved proteins, 37 kDa- and 18 kDa-proteins reacted with the Omp35La. In order to isolate the source bacteria of such dissolved proteins, bacteria from seawater and diseased fish were screened by colony Western blotting with anti-Omp35La. The reactive strains were further examined in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE)/Western blotting to verify the presence of Omp35La homologues among the outer membrane proteins of such strains. Outer membrane proteins reacting with anti-Omp35La were detected in only 4 strains of the 129 strains that were positive in the colony Western blotting. The level of possible source bacteria of 37 kDa- and 18 kDa-dissolved proteins was suggested to be 5–6 orders of magnitude lower than the total bacterial count. The present study leads us to hypothesize that a minor portion of the bacterial assemblage is responsible for the dissolved proteins in the coastal waters.     

西太平洋深海海水中乙醛降解菌多样性及群落结构研究

As a major aldehyde pollutant widely existing in industry and our daily life, acetaldehyde is more and more harmful to human health. As characteristic habitat niche, bacteria from deep sea environments are abundant and distinctive in heredity, physiology and ecological functions. Thus, the development of acetaldehyde-degrading bacteria from deep sea provides a new method to harness acetaldehyde pollutant. Firstly, in this study,acetaldehyde-degrading bacteria in the deep sea water of the West Pacific Ocean were enriched in situ and in the laboratory respectively, and then the diversity of uncultured bacteria was studied by using 16 S r RNA genes. Then acetaldehyde-degrading strains were isolated from two samples, including enrichment in situ and enrichment in laboratory samples of deep sea water from the West Pacific Ocean using acetaldehyde as the sole carbon source,and then the ability of acetaldehyde degradation was detected. Our results showed that the main uncultured bacteria of two samples with different enrichment approaches were similar, including Proteobacteria,Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, Cyanobacteria, but the structure of bacterial community were significant different.Four subgroups, α, γ, δ and ε, were found in Proteobacteria group. The γ-Proteobacteria was dominant(63.5%clones in laboratory enriched sample, 75% clones in situ enriched sample). The species belonged to γ-Proteobacteria and their proportion was nearly identical between the two enrichment samples, and Vibrio was the predominant genus(45% in laboratory enriched sample, 48.5% in situ enriched sample), followed by Halomonas(9% in situ enriched sample) and Streptococcus(6% in laboratory enriched sample). A total of 12 acetaldehyde-degrading strains were isolated from the two samples, which belonged to Vibrio, Halomonas,Pseudoalteromonas, Pseudomonas and Bacillus of γ-Proteobacteria. Strains ACH-L-5, ACH-L-8 and ACH-S-12,belonging to Vibrio and Halomonas, have strong ability of acetaldehyde degradation, which could tolerate 1.5 g/L acetaldehyde and degrade 350 mg/L acetaldehyde within 24 hours. Our results indicated that bacteria of γ-Proteobacteria may play an important role in carbon cycle of deep sea environments, especial the bacteria belonging to Vibrio and Halomonas and these strains was suggested for their potentials in government of aldehyde pollutants.     

水产品鲐鱼(Pneumatophorus japonicus)细菌多样性及优势微生物分析

为研究鲐鱼(Pneumatophorus japonicus)在不同冻藏时期的优势微生物,并且得到一个较全面的细菌群落组成结构,采用16SrDNA基因克隆文库及克隆子分析等方法,分别对冻藏1d、8d和20d条件下鲐鱼鳃体系中的细菌种群多样性、优势微生物及其中产组胺菌的变化进行分析。结果表明,不同时期鲐鱼鳃内的细菌多样性均较强;冻藏1天的鳃体系中不动杆菌属(Acinetobacter)占优势为总数的77.5%,产组胺细菌如泛菌属(Pantoea)和肠杆菌属(Enterobacter)较少;第8天优势细菌种群是梭杆菌属(Fusobacteria bacterium)和希瓦氏菌属(Shewanella),而产组胺菌如发光杆菌属(Photobacterium)和弧菌属(Vibrio)较前期数量有所增加;冻藏到第20天的优势种群为哈夫尼菌属(Hafnia)和沙雷菌属(Serratia),它们均是产组胺的菌群。鲐鱼中细菌多样性及其优势微生物的变化等全面信息可为了解鲐鱼水产品组胺发生的微生物机制及其控制方法提供重要依据。     

Phylogenetic diversity of bacteria associated with the marine sponge Agelas robusta from South China Sea

It is well known that marine sponges harbor large numbers of bacteria, some of which have been proved to be sponge-specific. The diversity of bacteria in marine sponges distributed along the coast of South China Sea has been previously studied but that of bacteria in sponges inhabiting the open sea has been rarely investigated. In this report, the diversity of bacteria associated with the marine sponge Agelas robusta from a remote coral reef in the South China Sea was documented employing 16S rDNA library construction, amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis (ARDRA) and phylogenetic analysis. A total of 32 phylotypes were finally categorized in nine phyla including Cyanobacteria, Proteobacteria, Chloroflexi, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, Acidobacteria, Planctomycetes, Bacteroidetes and Gemmatimonadetes. The dominant phylum was Proteobacteria whereas the dominant genus was Synechococcus in Cyanobacteria. Some spongespecific bacteria were also found in the bacteria population, but the proportion (5 OTUs/32 OTUs) was much lower than other sponges. This study reveals the phylogenetic diversity of bacteria in A. robusta and confirms the presence of some sponge-specific bacteria in the South China Sea. Understanding the diversity of sponge-associated bacteria in China assists to exploit the bacteria resources for biotechnology.     

中国对虾幼体致病菌哈维氏弧菌的分离及其生物学特性研究

于1996年4—5月,在青岛丰城地区一些对虾育苗场发生大规模爆发性传染病,主要感染中国对虾幼体,尤其是蚤状幼体。死亡率高达80％以上。从自然发病及人工感染患病濒死中国对虾幼体中分离出38株细菌,研究其形态特征,生理、生化特性及对中国对虾幼体的致病性。结果表明,38株分离物均为革兰氏阴性杆菌,菌体为杆状或短杆状,极生单鞭毛运动,不发光,氧化酶呈阳性,发酵葡萄糖产酸,TCBS平板上生长,菌落呈黄色或绿色,对弧菌抑制剂0／129（150g／ml）敏感,此均为弧菌属的典型特征,属于弧菌。其中26株细菌被归为同一类群,参照伯杰氏细菌学鉴定手册（1994年,第9版）鉴定表明,该菌同哈维氏弧菌（Vibrioharveyi）最为接近;另外,Biolog系统鉴定表明也为哈维氏弧菌,因此定名为哈维氏弧菌。利用浸泡感染法以2．5×103—2.5×107cfu／ml浓度的细菌感染不同发育时期（无节幼体期、蚤状期、糠虾期和仔虾期）的中国对虾幼体。结果表明,该病原菌主要感染中国对虾幼体的无节幼体晚期、蚤状期和糠虾早期并导致其大量死亡,而在仔虾期感染死亡率较低,并且2．5×104cfu／ml以上浓度的病原菌即可导致蚤状幼体严重感染死亡,由此可见,所分离的致病菌对中国对虾蚤状期幼体具有较强的致病力。人工感染试验结果     

Variations of silver in the sea water around Monaco

Silver determinations in the sea-water around Monaco were carried out using a procedure consisting of preconcentration of silver with lead sulfide, followed by dithizone extraction and spectrophotometric mono-colour measurement of silver-dithizonate. The average concentration of silver in the surface sea-water around Monaco was found to be 0.14Μg Ag/l. It was also concluded that observed variations of silver content in seawater were not related to the fresh water run-off from the neighbouring coast. This suggests that the variations have to be attributed to some other factor or a combination of factors. On the basis of the observed values of the silver content of the Var River water, an upper limit of silver supply by fresh waters into the sea-area around Monaco is estimated to be 2.3Μg Ag per liter of fresh water. Considering the mixing of the fresh water with sea-water, an increase of up to 0.09Μg Ag/l in the sea-water might be expected. The fact that the increase of silver in the sea-water was not observed in connection with the fresh-water mixing suggests that some effective removal process of silver may be in operation at the immediate vicinity of the injection of fresh-water into the sea.     

刺参肠道微生物组成分析及产酶、溶血性试验

对野生和人工养殖刺参的肠壁及内容物中的菌群数量、种类组成进行了研究;并结合产酶试验和溶血性试验,对刺参肠道益生菌做了初步的体外筛选。结果表明,野生刺参肠壁及内容物中的细菌数量分别为(3.30±0.41)×107 cfu/g、(6.39±0.32)×107 cfu/g,养殖刺参肠壁及内容物中的细菌数量分别为(2.83±0.31)×107 cfu/g、(5.67±0.53)×107 cfu/g。野生刺参肠道优势菌为弧菌属(Vibrio),次优势菌为假单胞菌属(Pseudomonas)和希瓦氏菌属(Shewanella);养殖刺参肠道优势菌为弧菌属(Vibrio),次优势菌为假单胞菌属(Pseudomonas)。在224株细菌中,共有160株细菌具有产酶能力,所占比例为71.43%,其中具产蛋白酶、淀粉酶、脂肪酶能力菌株分别为114株、114株、108株,所占比例分别为50.89%、50.89%、48.21%。99株细菌中有23株具有溶血性,所占比例为23.23%。综合分析实验数据,确定6株细菌作为刺参肠道潜在益生菌,菌株代号分别为HS1(Pseudomonas)、HS5(Bacillus)、HS7(Shewanella)、HS8(Vibrio)、HS10(Vibrio)、HS11(Vibrio)。     

厚壳贻贝(Mytilus coruscus)中抗生素耐受细菌多样性研究

抗生素的滥用是当前水产养殖业发展及食品安全面临的重大威胁。贻贝体内含有丰富的附生菌群,但目前尚不清楚贻贝附生菌群在抗生素残留背景下的动态变化和耐受性特征。为此进行了厚壳贻贝中抗生素耐受细菌多样性研究。将厚壳贻贝暴露于含有青霉素、链霉素和卡那霉素的养殖水体中,之后采用超声法获取含贻贝软体部组织表面附着菌群的超声液,经Zobell 2216E液体培养基培养后,将组织超声液和培养液一并经16S rDNA高通量测序来分析厚壳贻贝微生物的群落组成。结果表明,超声处理后获得的微生物主要为拟杆菌门(Bacteroidetes)、变形菌门(Proteobacteria)和疣微菌门(Verrucomicrobia)。多重抗生素的处理可以显著下降贻贝体内微生物的OTU数,对微生物群落结构有明显影响。经264h恢复养殖后,在门水平上观察到贻贝体内微生物群落可以恢复重建,表明其具有一定的韧性。研究结果将为今后进一步探索宿主相关微生物群落构建机制及特殊抗性微生物奠定基础。     

Microbial diversity in the sediments of the southern Mariana Trench

Microbial diversity in the abyssal sediments beneath the seafloor of 30,94,and 151cm near the southern end of the Mariana Trench was analyzed in the Illumina HiSeq 2500 platform.Results show that the microbial populations were dominated by bacteria but merely no archaea were identifi ed at the three depths.In the bacterial community,Proteobacteria and Firmicutes dominated the total taxon tags,followed by Bacteroidetes,Actinobacteria,Planctomycetes,Cyanobacteria,and Chloroflexi,which together account for over 99%of the total population.Similar to that in the seawater in the trench,the operational taxonomic units(OTUs)belonging to Gammaproteobacteria from the sediment samples showed high abundance.However,common bacterial OTUs in the water of the trench including Nitrospirae and Marinimicrobia were hardly found in the sediments from the southern Mariana Trench or the hadal region.Therefore,this study documented for the first time the compositions of microbial diversity in the trench sediments,revealed the difference in microbial diversity in water and sediment of the trench and will enrich the knowledge on the microbial diversity in the abyssal areas.     

青岛近海碳钢锈层中细菌群落结构的多样性

研究海水环境中Q235碳钢锈层中微生物群落的多样性。应用16SrDNA基因文库技术,分别对实海全浸一年的Q235碳钢内外锈层中的微生物进行基因文库的构建和分析。通过克隆测序构建了含有64个OTUs的细菌16SrRNA基因文库,结果表明锈层中微生物种类丰富,主要分布于13个已知的菌门,包括变形菌门;拟杆菌门;硅藻门;酸杆菌门;浮霉菌门;硝化螺旋菌门;厚壁菌门;绿弯菌门;疣微菌门;绿菌门;放线菌门;红藻门以及螺旋体门。内外锈层的优势菌均为变形细菌门,分别占文库序列的46%和53%,其中α-变形菌纲又为门中优势类群,但在内外锈层中还存在明显的系统发育学分歧。     

Phylogenetic relationship between symbionts of tubeworm <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lamellibrachia satsuma</Emphasis> and the sediment microbial community in Kagoshima Bay

Vestimentiferan tubeworms acquire their symbionts through horizontal transmission from the surrounding environment. In the present study, we constructed a 16S rRNA gene clone library to investigate the phylogenetic relationship between diverse microbes in the sediment and symbiotic bacteria in the trophosome of the tubeworm, Lamellibrachia satsuma, from Kagoshima Bay, Japan. Two symbiotic bacterial phylotypes belonging to the classes γ- and ε-Proteobacteria were found from this tubeworm trophosome. They were very closely related to the symbionts of several other marine invertebrates. The most predominant bacteria in the sediment were ε-Proteobacteria. A broad diversity of bacteria belonged to non-proteobacterial phyla such as Planctomycetes, Acidobacteria, and Chloroflexi was observed. The presence of sulfur oxidizers (i.e., ε-Proteobacteria and γ-Proteobacteria) and sulfur reducers (i.e., δ-Proteobacteria) may play a significant role in the sulfur cycle in these habitats and provide multiple sources of nutrition to the cold-seep communities. Closely related clones of ε-Proteobacteria symbiont in the species level and of γ-Proteobacteria symbiont in the genus level were found in the surrounding sediment. The similarity of symbiont clones of L. satsuma with other symbionts and free-living bacteria suggests the possibility of opportunistic symbiosis in ε-Proteobacteria and the co-evolution of γ-Proteobacteria having occurred after symbiosis with the tubeworms.     

Diversity and distribution of the Siphonophora (Cnidaria) in Sagami Bay, Japan, and their association with tropical and subarctic water masses

Siphonophores were sampled using stratified 1.67-m²-mouth 330-μm mesh nets during both day- and nighttime in Sagami Bay (35°0.50′N, 139°20′E), off south-eastern Japan during a 9-day period in March 2006, when the Kuroshio Current was in an offshore non-large meander phase. The samples were collected at 50-m intervals spanning from 1,000 m depth to the surface. Fifty-eight species and 11 eudoxid forms of unknown parentage were collected, of which 5 represent first-time records from Japanese waters, and Clausophyes laetmata Pugh and Pagès 1993, Eudoxia cf. galathea Moser 1925 and Lensia panikkari Daniel 1970 were recorded for the first time not only from Japan but from the entire Pacific Ocean. The highest abundance and diversity was found below the thermocline during the day, and above it at night. A second peak in abundance, around 400 m depth, associated with a decrease in diversity, could be linked to the increase in abundance of a single species—Dimophyes arctica (Chun 1897). The siphonophore communities could be related to the different water masses in the Bay, with an important influence of lateral transport of both tropical and subarctic species into the Bay by the different water masses.     

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。     

近海沉积物与水体中天然大分子聚合物降解菌的原位富集与多样性分析

本研究选取5种海洋动植物大分子高聚物或其天然组织,包括虾壳、鱼鳞、海带叶片、几丁质和壳聚糖,分别在海水表层和沉积物环境中进行富集,定期取样,通过高通量测序分析菌群多样性。结果发现,不同有机物原位富集的细菌多样性存在较大的差异,而且同种底物在海水表层与沉积物中的降解菌菌群差异较大。从物种多样性看,在海水表层环境中富集的鱼鳞样品种群最丰富,而沉积物环境中富集的海带叶片样品菌群多样性最低,除其优势菌群为热袍菌门外,其他所有富集物中优势菌均为变形菌门。其中脱硫杆菌科、黄杆菌科、脱硫弧菌科和弧菌科占有较大比例,脱硫杆菌科在所有样品中优势较大,黄杆菌科在海水表层环境样品中为优势菌群,弧菌科在沉积物样品几丁质和壳聚糖样品中占比较高。本研究通过对同种海洋环境中不同富集样品之间以及同种底物不同环境中富集菌群之间的比较,分析结果得到了原位条件下参与大分子聚合物降解的菌群种类,但有待于在更多不同的海域富集物中进行验证。     

Larval development ofEuphausia similis (Crustacea,Euphausiacea) in Sagami Bay,central Japan

The larvae ofEuphausia similis G. O. Sars in Sagami Bay, Central Japan, are described. Nauplius, metanauplius, calyptopis and furcilia stages are included. In the furcilia stage, six forms are identified on the basis of the form of the pleopods and the number of terminal telson spines. Furcilia I: a pair of non-setose pleopods and seven terminal telson spines. Furcilia II: a pair of setose and three pairs of non-setose pleopods and seven terminal spines. Furcilia III: four pairs of setose and a pair of non-setose pleopods and seven terminal spines. Furcilia IV: five pairs of setose pleopods and five terminal telson spines. Furcilia V: five pairs of setose pleopods and three terminal telson spines. Furcilia VI: five pairs of setose pleopods and one terminal telson spine. On the basis of the developmental pathway of the larvae,E. similis is suggested to be related toE. spinifera, E. longirostris, E. hanseni and theE. gibboides group species. The size ofE. similis larvae, expressed as total length, in Sagami Bay varied according to month. The sizes of calyptopis III and furcilia I–V stages were smallest in November and March and largest in May.     

Degradation and utilization of protein derived from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pseudomonas aeruginosa</Emphasis> by marine microbial community

Microbial degradation and utilization of proteins derived from bacterial detritus were investigated in a microcosm experiment using Pseudomonas aeruginosa detritus as a substrate. To assess the effects of natural marine microbial communities on degradation and utilization of protein derived from P. aeruginosa cells, four microcosms were prepared: natural seawater (containing the natural microbial community) with P. aeruginosa detritus (N+Pa), autoclaved seawater with P. aeruginosa detritus (A+Pa), natural seawater (N) and autoclaved seawater (A) without adding anything as a control. The numbers of total and growing bacterial cells, protease activity, and transition of P. aeruginosa proteins were monitored in the four microcosms. Changes in the numbers of total and growing bacterial cells and protease activities indicated that bacterial detritus significantly stimulated the microbial community in the microcosms. Both the surviving P. aeruginosa in A+Pa and natural microbial community in N+Pa microcosms were able to degrade and utilize P. aeruginosa detritus; however, the community in N+Pa including various microbes maintained high activity longer, indicating that diversity is an important factor in keeping the community active. Even under the very high protease activity in N+Pa, 39-kDa and 48-kDa proteins from P. aeruginosa remained in the microcosm during the entire experiment (150 days). Immunoblotting suggested the 48-kDa protein was an intact molecule of OprP, which had been detected from the dissolved fraction of natural seawater in previous studies. This result suggests that the protein molecules that had been detected from natural seawater actually had a high tolerance to microbial degradation.     

Phytoplankton and bacterial community structures and their interaction during red-tide phenomena

Phytoplankton and bacteria diversity were studied before, during and after red tide phenomena during spring season 2015 in the Eastern Harbour (E.H.) of Alexandria, Egypt. Fifty five species of phytoplankton were identified and represented different distinct classes “Bacillariophyceae; Dinophyceae, Chlorophyceae, Cyanophyceae and Eugelenophyceae”. Also, Diatom formed the most dominant group. The average number of the phytoplankton density varied from 4.8 × 10⁴ to 1.1 × 10⁶ cell l^-1 during the study period and Skeletonema costatum was the agent causing the red tide. The existence percentages of bacteria ranged from 2.6 to 17.9% on all media tested. The bacterial isolates on the nutrient agar medium represented the highest existence with a total percentage of 43.6%, followed by MSA medium (25.7%), while the lowest percentage was for the AA medium at 7.8%. However, twelve isolates were selected as representative for bacterial community during study interval. Based on the morphological, biochemical, physiological and enzymatic characteristics, the bacterial strains were described. Depending on the 16S rDNA gene sequence, three common antagonists were aligned as: Vibrio toranzoniae strain Vb 10.8, Ruegeria pelagia strain NBRC 102038 and Psychrobacter adeliensis strain DSM 15333. The interaction between these bacteria and S. costatum was studied. The growth of S. costatum was significantly lower whenever each bacterium was present as compared to axenic culture. More specifically, 30% (v/v) of the all tested bacteria showed the strongest algicidal activities, as all S. costatum cells were killed after two days. 10% of R. pelagia and P. adeliensis also showed significant algicidal activities within six days.     

Prokaryotic community composition revealed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis in the East Sea

To understand the temporal and spatial variation of the prokaryotic community in the East Sea, their composition was determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE)-sequencing techniques. The investigations were conducted twice annually in 2007 and 2009 in coastal and offshore stations. Prokaryotic abundance (PA), leucine incorporation rate, and other environmental parameters were also measured. By using the DGGE approach, we obtained 283 bacterial sequences and 160 archaeal sequences. The most frequently detected bacterial phylotypes during the investigations belonged to Alphaproteobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria, and Bacteroidetes. However, their relative compositions differed in time and space. Although Alphaproteobacteria and Bacteroidetes were the dominant groups in the surface water in May 2007 and in May and October 2007, Gammaproteobacteria was dominant in mesopelagic samples. However, Gammaproteobacteria was overwhelmingly dominant in most samples in August 2009. Although Deltaproteobacteria was rarely found as a dominant bacterial group, it occupied the highest fraction in a mesopelagic sample in October 2007. Epsilonproteobacteria also showed a similar trend, although its maximal dominance was found in a mesopelagic sample in August 2009. The archaeal community was dominated overwhelmingly by members of the Euryarchaeota in most of the investigations. However, Nitrosopumilales was dominant in aphotic samples in August 2009. Further, their spatiotemporal composition at the family level changed more dynamically in the East Sea. These temporal and spatial distributions of the prokaryotic community were influenced mainly by seawater temperature and depth in the East Sea.