Lipid biomarkers and bacterial lipase activities as indicators of organic matter and bacterial dynamics in contrasted regimes at the DYFAMED site, NW Mediterranean

This study investigated the relationships between dissolved organic matter (DOM) composition and bacterial dynamics on short time scale during spring mesotrophic (March 2003) and summer oligotrophic (June 2003) regimes, in a 0–500 m depth water column with almost no advection, at the DYFAMED site, NW Mediterranean. DOM was characterized by analyzing dissolved organic carbon (DOC), colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) and lipid class biotracers. Bacterial dynamic was assessed through the measurement of in situ bacterial lipase activity, abundance, production and bacterial community structure. We made the assumption that by coupling the ambient concentration of hydrolysable acyl-lipids with the measurement of their in situ bacterial hydrolysis rates (i.e. the free fatty acids release rate) would provide new insights about bacterial response to change in environmental conditions. The seasonal transition from spring to summer was accompanied by a significant accumulation of excess DOC (+5 μM) (ANOVA, p<0.05, n=8) in the upper layer (0–50 m). In this layer, the free fatty acids release rate to the bacterial carbon demand (BCD) ratio increased from 0.6±0.3 in March to 1.3±1.0 in June (ANOVA, p<0.05, n=8) showing that more uncoupling between the hydrolysis of the acyl-lipids and the BCD occurred during the evolution of the season, and that free fatty acids contributed to the excess DOC. The increase of lipolysis index and CDOM absorbance (from 0.24±0.17 to 0.39±0.13 and from 0.076±0.039 to 0.144±0.068; ANOVA, p<0.05, n=8, respectively), and the higher contribution of triglycerides, wax esters and phospholipids (from <5% to 12–31%) to the lipid pool reflected the change in the DOM quality. In addition to a strong increase of bacterial lipase activity per cell (51.4±29.4–418.3±290.6 Ag C cell⁻¹ h⁻¹), a significant percentage of ribotypes (39%) was different between spring and summer in the deep chlorophyll maximum (DCM) layer in particular, suggesting a shift in the bacterial community structure due to the different trophic conditions. At both seasons, in the chlorophyll layers, diel variations of DOM and bacterial parameters reflected a better bioavailability and/or DOM utilization by bacteria at night (the ratio of free fatty acids release rate to bacterial carbon demand decreased), most likely related to the zooplankton trophic behaviour. In mesotrophic conditions, such day/night pattern was driving changes in the bacterial community structure. In more oligotrophic period, diel variations in bacterial community structure were depth dependent in relation to the strong summer stratification.     

对虾养殖池水域环境细菌的动态变化

于1990年6月下旬-10月初期间，每隔7－10d在大连市金州区董家沟镇养虾场突池定点采样一次，3h内带回实验室进行细菌培养计数，研究对虾养殖池水域环境中细菌的动态变化。结果表明，对虾养殖池水中异养菌和弧菌的数量变化与水温的变化趋势相同；6—7月末，细菌增长比较缓慢；8月初开始，细菌数量增长较快，8月中旬达到全年的最高值，异养菌为3．4×105cell／ml，弧菌为1．9×105cell／ml；而后随着水温的下降，水中细菌逐渐减少。底记泥浆中，细菌数量一直呈上升趋势，不受水温的影响；异养菌最高达6×107cell／ml，弧菌达1．5×106cell／ml。     

Spatial distribution, diversity and composition of bacterial communities in sub-seafloor fluids at a deep-sea hydrothermal field of the Suiyo Seamount

Spatial distribution, diversity, and composition of bacterial communities within the shallow sub-seafloor at the deep-sea hydrothermal field of the Suiyo Seamount, Izu-Bonin Arc, Western Pacific Ocean, were investigated. Fluids were sampled from four boreholes in this area. Each borehole was located near or away from active vents, the distance ranging 2–40 m from active vents. In addition, fluids discharging from a natural vent and ambient seawater were sampled in this area. We extracted DNA from each sample, amplified bacterial 16S rRNA genes by PCR, cloned the PCR products and sequenced. The total number of clones analyzed was 348. Most of the detected phylotypes were affiliated with the phylum Proteobacteria, of which the detection frequency in each clone library ranged from 84.6% to 100%. The bacterial community diversity and composition were different between hydrothermal fluids and seawater, between fluids from the boreholes and the vent, and even among fluids from each borehole. The relative abundances of the phylotypes related to Thiomicrospira, Methylobacterium and Sphingomonas were significantly different among fluids from each borehole. The phylotypes related to Thiomicrospira and Alcanivorax were detected in all of the boreholes and vent samples. Our findings provide insights into bacterial communities in the shallow sub-seafloor environments at active deep-sea hydrothermal vent fields.     

Factors influencing benthic bacterial abundance, biomass, and activity on the northern continental margin and deep basin of the Gulf of Mexico

As part of a larger project on the deep benthos of the Gulf of Mexico, an extensive data set on benthic bacterial abundance (n>750), supplemented with cell-size and rate measurements, was acquired from 51 sites across a depth range of 212–3732 m on the northern continental slope and deep basin during the years 2000, 2001, and 2002. Bacterial abundance, determined by epifluorescence microscopy, was examined region-wide as a function of spatial and temporal variables, while subsets of the data were examined for sediment-based chemical or mineralogical correlates according to the availability of collaborative data sets. In the latter case, depth of oxygen penetration helped to explain bacterial depth profiles into the sediment, but only porewater DOC correlated significantly (inversely) with bacterial abundance (p<0.05, n=24). Other (positive) correlations were detected with TOC, C/N ratios, and % sand when the analysis was restricted to data from the easternmost stations (p<0.05, n=9–12). Region-wide, neither surface bacterial abundance (3.30–16.8×10⁸ bacteria cm⁻³ in 0–1 cm and 4–5 cm strata) nor depth-integrated abundance (4.84–17.5×10¹³ bacteria m⁻², 0–15 cm) could be explained by water depth, station location, sampling year, or vertical POC flux. In contrast, depth-integrated bacterial biomass, derived from measured cell sizes of 0.027–0.072 μm³, declined significantly with station depth (p<0.001, n=56). Steeper declines in biomass were observed for the cross-slope transects (when unusual topographic sites and abyssal stations were excluded). The importance of resource changes with depth was supported by the positive relationship observed between bacterial biomass and vertical POC flux, derived from measures of overlying productivity, a relationship that remained significant when depth was held constant (partial correlation analysis, p<0.05, df=50). Whole-sediment incubation experiments under simulated in situ conditions, using ³H-thymidine or ¹⁴C-amino acids, yielded low production rates (5–75 μg C m⁻² d⁻¹) and higher respiration rates (76–242 μg C m⁻² d⁻¹), with kinetics suggestive of resource limitation at abyssal depths. Compared to similarly examined deep regions of the open ocean, the semi-enclosed Gulf of Mexico (like the Arabian Sea) harbors in its abyssal sediments a greater biomass of bacteria per unit of vertically delivered POC, likely reflecting the greater input of laterally advected, often unreactive, material from its margins.     

基于多种培养基和不同培养温度的马里亚纳海沟异养细菌多样性分析

马里亚纳海沟具有低温、高压、永久黑暗以及营养匮乏等深海环境特征,其中的细菌多样性对深海环境具有极为重要的作用.为研究马里亚纳海沟海水中异养细菌的物种多样性,采用多种培养基、不同培养温度同步筛选,单菌落16S rRNA基因序列鉴定,邻近法系统发育树构建分析等方法,对25个海水样品进行异养细菌多样性分析.共获得细菌531株...     

Rock varnish in New York: An accelerated snapshot of accretionary processes

Samples of manganiferous rock varnish collected from fluvial, bedrock outcrop and Erie Barge Canal settings in New York state host a variety of diatom, fungal and bacterial microbial forms that are enhanced in manganese and iron. Use of a Dual-Beam Focused Ion Beam Scanning Electron Microscope to manipulate the varnish in situ reveals microbial forms that would not have otherwise been identified. The relative abundance of Mn-Fe-enriched biotic forms in New York samples is far greater than varnishes collected from warm deserts. Moisture availability has long been noted as a possible control on varnish growth rates, a hypothesis consistent with the greater abundance of Mn-enhancing bioforms. Sub-micron images of incipient varnish formation reveal that varnishing in New York probably starts with the mortality of microorganisms that enhanced Mn on bare mineral surfaces; microbial death results in the adsorption of the Mn-rich sheath onto the rock in the form of filamentous networks. Clay minerals are then cemented by remobilization of the Mn-rich material. Thus, the previously unanswered question of what comes first - clay mineral deposition or enhancement of Mn - can be answered in New York because of the faster rate of varnish growth. In contrast, very slow rates of varnishing seen in warm deserts, of microns per thousand years, make it less likely that collected samples will reveal varnish accretionary processes than samples collected from fast-accreting moist settings.     

Ingestion of bacteria in a eutrophic subtropical reservoir pond with food web mainly controlled by zooplankton grazing

This study evaluated the zooplanktonic bacterivory at a eutrophic subtropical reservoir pond by the quantification of the bacterial grazing and clearance rates of the protozooplanktonic (ciliates and nanoplankton) and metazooplanktonic (rotifers, cladocerans and copepods) populations during one year period. For this purpose, in situ experiments with fluorescently labeled bacteria (FLB) were carried out every two months on the sub-surface of the reservoir pond. Considering the individual grazing and clearance rates, the metazooplanktonic organisms showed the highest consumption of bacteria. However, in terms of population and considering all the zooplanktonic community, the heterotrophic nanoplanktonic organisms (HNP) accounted for 73% of the total bacteria ingested, being the most important bacterial consumers in the reservoir, due to their high population densities. Among them, the HNP smaller than 5 μm showed the highest population grazing rates, also due to their high abundance. These organisms were the main responsible for bacteria regulation by grazing in the reservoir. Among the metazooplanktonic organisms, the highest ingestion of bacteria occurred by the copepods (10%) during the wet season, and by the rotifers (22%) during the dry season. Thus, the metazooplanktonic population grazing rates were significantly different over the year, between the cold/dry and hot/rainy season. These seasonal differences were not observed in the density and biomass of picoplankton nor in the population grazing rates of ciliates and HNP. Nevertheless, the protozoa (ciliates and HNP) were directly responsible for most of the predation on bacteria, while the metazooplanktonic populations were indirectly responsible for it by the consumption of protozoa in a cascading effect.     

Untersuchung von drei Grundwasserwerken auf Vorkommen von Acanthamoeben,Naeglerien und anderen freilebenden Amöben

Prevalence of Acanthamoebae, Naegleriae and Other Free-living Amoebae in the Course of Water Treatment in Three Well Waterworks Numerous species of free-living amoebae and other protozoa had been observed in the raw water of three representative waterworks with enriched well water. They were eliminated most effectively during the water treatment procedure. Acanthamoebae and Naegleriae including thermophilic strains of these genera could not be identified in any of the clear water samples. Acanthamoebae and Vannellae isolated from different samples exhibited repeatedly intracellular infections with bacteria of the genus Cytophaga. Their role as possible hosts of different pathogenic and non pathogenic bacteria like Legionella sp., Listeria sp., and Pseudomonas sp. is confirmed by this observation. As known from earlier findings in connection with the Acanthamoeba-Legionella model, it can be assumed, that bacteria multiplying in trophozoites or being enclosed in cysts are protected against high concentrations of chlorine and other biocides.     

Significance of bacteria in carbon fluxes in the Arabian Sea

In the Arabian Sea, temporal contiguity of highly oligotrophic and eutrophic periods, along with high water temperatures, may result in unique features of bacteriaorganic matter coupling, nutrient cycling and sedimentation, which are unlike those in the classical oligotrophic and eutrophic waters. Bacteria-phytoplankton interactions are suggested to influence phytoplankton aggregation and its timing. It is also hypothesized that, within aggregates, hydrolytic ectoenzyme activity, together with condensation reactions between the hydrolysis products, produce molecular species which are not readily degraded by pelagic bacteria. Accumulation of a reservoir of such slow-to-degrade dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is proposed to be a carbon flux and energy buffer, which moderates the response of bacteria to the dramatic variations in primary production in the Arabian Sea. Use of the slow-to-degrade DOC pool during the intermonsoon could temporarily render the Arabian Sea net-heterotrophic and a source of CO₂ to the atmosphere. Stored DOC is also suggested to balance the observed deficit between mesopelagic carbon demand and the sinking particulate organic carbon supply. Knowledge of the significance of bacteria in carbon storage and cycling in the Arabian Sea is needed to understand the response of the ocean’s biogeochemical state to strong physical forcing and climate change.