Seasonality,abundance, and biomass of bacteria in a southwestern reservoir

The seasonality, abundance, and biomass of planktonic bacteria was investigated in a south temperate zone reservoir. Epilimnetic samples were collected periodically throughout 1983 from 5 locations within Lake Arlington, TX. Total bacteria were determined from epifluorescence microscopy and averaged 1.1 × 10¹³ cells m^–3 of water. Planktobacteria accounted for 85% of total cell counts and 73% of total bacterial biomass. Cell volumes were substantially larger in winter than in summer and were negatively correlated with temperature. Cell volumes ranged from 0.076 to 0.330 µm³ and averaged 0.160 µm³. The average biovolume corresponded to a sphere 0.670 µm in diameter. Bacterial biomass was high, averaging 172 mg C m^–3 of water and reached seasonal maximum during winter months. Correlation analysis (simple linear and multiple linear) revealed that approximately 50% of the variation in bacterial biomass could be accounted for by variation in temperature and dissolved organic carbon.     

Bacterioplankton in the acidified Lake Gårdsjön

Total bacterial numbers in different strata of lake water and in inlet and outlet streams have been recorded during a yearly cycle. A calculated mean cell volume of 0.342 µm² has then been used to estimate bacterial biomass in the lake. Change of biomass during the year was substantial and the range was from about 0.1 g · m^–3 to about 1.0–1.2 g · m^–3. The seasonal development included a spring-early summer increase followed by a decrease to the minimum in July–August. Correlation between epi- and hypolimnion was high and in both strata two dominant autumn peaks in biomass appeared. With the exception of the last autumn peak the development of bacterial biomass was closely related to development of phytoplankton biomass and production.     

Bacterioplankton interactions with Daphnia and algae in experimental enclosures

Development of bacterioplankton was studied by manipulation of planktivorous fish and/or nutrients in experimental enclosures in a fish pond. Grazing pressure exerted by large zooplankton (Daphnia galeata and Daphnia pulicaria) strongly influenced the counts and size distribution of bacterial populations. Morphometric analyses by scanning electron microscope revealed a shift in size distribution from larger mainly rod-type bacteria under low grazing pressure towards smaller mainly coccus-type under strong grazing pressure. The metabolic activity of bacteria measured as glucose uptake was higher under strong grazing pressure. After removal of large daphnids, the increase in bacterial density was probably the result of two additive factors: low grazing pressure and high level of dissolved organic matter (DOM) due to photosynthetic activity of more abundant algae. Composition of bacterial populations shifted toward larger, rod-type bacteria, and their metabolic efficiency measured by uptake, was lowered. The basic dimensionality of the system and interactions between variables was describe by R-mode factor analysis. The manipulated enclosures were relate with factor score.     

Seasonal coupling between phyto- and bacterioplankton in a sand pit lake (Créteil lake,France)

Phyto- and bacterioplankton biomass and activity were simultaneously measured during the course of one year in the shallow Créteil Lake (France).Phytoplankton was dominated, during the whole year, by small-sized organisms (10 to 25 µm). Bacteria were in a majority small coccoids (<0.3 µm). Phyto -and bacterioplankton abundances averaged respectively 3.3 × 10⁶ cells l^–1 and 6 × 10⁹ cells l^–1.The phasing of the activity and biomass periods suggest a close coupling between phyto- and bacterioplankton. There were two distinct periods of high activity and biomass. Maximal values were observed in summer but an early increase occurred also in winter. Low or undetectable phytoplankton excretion rates, when heterotrophic activity was maximum, indicated a bacterial uptake of up to 100% of the released algal products during the incubation period. Heterotrophic uptake measurements with both glucose and amino acids revealed a seasonal change of the substrates in the lake, glucose uptake being associated more with the maximum activity of the algae, while the amino acids uptake was relatively higher during their decline.The maximal photosynthetic rate averaged 21.5 mgC m^–3 h^–1 and mean Vmax values were 0.056 and 0.050 mgC m^–3 h^–1 respectively for glucose and amino acids uptake.     

Salinity Impact on Bacterial Community Composition in Five High-Altitude Lakes from the Tibetan Plateau,Western China

The influence of salinity and geographical distance on bacterial community composition (BCC) in five freshwater, oligosaline or polysaline lakes located at altitudes higher than 4400 m on the central and southern Tibetan Plateau were investigated using the 16S rRNA gene clone library approach together with multivariate analysis of environmental variables. A total of 10 clone libraries were constructed with two libraries in each lake, one in the epilimnion and the other in the hypolimnion. Geographical distance was not found to impact BCC significantly, but salinity, chl a and lake hydraulic retention time were significant factors influencing the BCC. Bacteria in lakes located on the central and southern Plateau owned the same community composition as that observed from the eastern Tibetan lakes. They were both predominated by Bacteroidetes and Cyanobacteria, had low taxon richness, and similar typical freshwater clusters and distributed characteristics. Supplemental materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Geomicrobiology Journal to view the supplemental file.     

Quorum Sensing Is a Language of Chemical Signals and Plays an Ecological Role in Algal-Bacterial Interactions

Algae are ubiquitous in the marine environment, and the ways in which they interact with bacteria are of particular interest in the field of marine ecology. The interactions between primary producers and bacteria impact the physiology of both partners, alter the chemistry of their environment, and shape microbial diversity. Although algal-bacterial interactions are well known and studied, information regarding the chemical-ecological role of this relationship remains limited, particularly with respect to quorum sensing (QS), which is a system of stimuli and response correlated to population density. In the microbial biosphere, QS is pivotal in driving community structure and regulating behavioral ecology, including biofilm formation, virulence, antibiotic resistance, swarming motility, and secondary metabolite production. Many marine habitats, such as the phycosphere, harbor diverse populations of microorganisms and various signal languages (such as QS-based autoinducers). QS-mediated interactions widely influence algal-bacterial symbiotic relationships, which in turn determine community organization, population structure, and ecosystem functioning. Understanding infochemicals-mediated ecological processes may shed light on the symbiotic interactions between algae host and associated microbes. In this review, we summarize current achievements about how QS modulates microbial behavior, affects symbiotic relationships, and regulates phytoplankton chemical-ecological processes. Additionally, we present an overview of QS-modulated co-evolutionary relationships between algae and bacterioplankton, and consider the potential applications and future perspectives of QS.     

粤东大规模海水增养殖区柘林湾浮游细菌的时空分布

2001年9月至2004年12月对粤东大规模海水增养区柘林湾表、底层水体中浮游细菌的时空分布进行调查。结果表明,柘林湾浮游细菌总均值为59．4×10^4／dm^3,与国内外富营养化程度较高的内湾海域大致相当。在平面分布上,浮游细菌总体上表现出湾内高于湾外、养殖区高于非养殖区的分布格局,说明大规模增养殖业对浮游细菌的时空分布具有重要的影响,其中网箱养殖的影响尤其显著。湾顶黄冈河口浮游细菌呈现显著的逐年增加趋势,其原因一方面与调查期间降雨减少有关;另一方面可能是受周边陆源污染输入加剧的影响。在周年变化上,浮游细菌表现为典型的单峰型周年变化模式,主要是受水温的调控。年度峰值出现在夏季高温季节（6～8月）,低谷出现在冬季低温季节（12～2月）。浮游细菌与溶氧呈现显著意义的负相关关系,但低溶氧可能是湾内养殖区初级生产力低下所致,而非浮游细菌耗氧所为。相反,溶氧降低可能会促进专性或兼性厌氧细菌的增加,使养殖环境进一步恶化。     

珠江口城市段近岸表层水体浮游细菌分离方法比较

为了更好地分离珠江口未/难培养的浮游细菌,本研究以珠江河口三个样点的水体为研究对象,同时采用了纯培养和免培养的方法,对不同培养基的分离效果进行了探索。在纯培养实验中,本研究选择了7种不同的分离培养基,共分离获得153株菌;同时,将扩增子分析结果作为分离效果的参考,所有环境样品中共包含3 553个操作分类单元（operational taxonomic units,OTUs）。对三个样点微生物类群的多样性进行比较,纯培养结果显示珠江口下游珠海样点多样性最高,其次为中大和虎门样点;免培养则显示虎门样点多样性最高;对比7种不同的分离培养基,Z7（R₂A）培养基的分离效果最好,分离菌株数和分离类群的α多样性最高,Z1（改良ISP 2）次之;主坐标分析结合韦恩图的结果表明相比其余的培养基,Z1和Z7培养基分离获得的菌群兼具普遍性和特异性,进一步证明了这两种培养基的分离效果较佳;冗余分析结果表明K₂HPO₄、酵母粉、可溶性淀粉、MgSO₄·7H₂O、麦芽膏和葡萄糖与特定类群的分离有相关关系,其中K₂HPO₄的影响最为显著（P<0.05）。本文通过7种不同培养基对河口微生物分离效果的探究,有助于我们在研究未知微生物的营养特性时,选择成分和组成更合理的培养基来提升河口微生物纯培养的分离效率。     

Predation as a shaping force for the phenotypic and genotypic composition of planktonic bacteria

Predation is a major mortality factor of planktonic bacteria and an important shaping force for the phenotypic and taxonomic structure of bacterial communities. In this paper we: (1) summarise current knowledge on bacterial phenotypic properties which affect their vulnerability towards grazers, and (2) review experimental evidence demonstrating that this phenotypic heterogeneity results in shifts of bacterial community composition during enhanced protist grazing pressure. Size-structured interactions are especially important in planktonic systems and bacterial cell size influences the mortality rate and the type of grazer to which bacteria are most susceptible. When protists are the major bacterivores, both very small and large bacterial cells gain some size refuge. Recent studies have revealed that also various non-morphological traits such as motility, physicochemical surface characters and toxicity affect bacterial vulnerability and protist feeding success. These properties are effective at different stages during the feeding process of interception feeding flagellates (encounter, capture, ingestion, digestion). Grazing-resistant bacteria in natural communities can account for a substantial portion of the total bacterial biomass at least in more productive aquatic systems. In field and laboratory experiments it has been demonstrated that increased protozoan grazing results in shifts in the phenotypic and genotypic composition of the bacterial assemblage. The importance of this shaping force for the bacterial community structure depends, however, on the overall food web structure, especially on the composition of the metazooplankton. Whereas the structuring impact of bacterial grazers is well documented, relatively little is known about how grazing-mediated changes in bacterial communities influence microbially mediated processes and biogeochemically important transformations. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Bacterioplankton Abundance and Activity in a Small Hypertrophic Stratified Lake

Bacterioplankton abundance and production were followed during one decade (1991–2001) in the hypertrophic and steeply stratified small Lake Verevi (Estonia). The lake is generally dimictic. However, a partly meromictic status could be formed in specific meteorological conditions as occurred in springs of 2000 and 2001. The abundance of bacteria in Lake Verevi is highly variable (0.70 to 22 × 10⁶ cells ml⁻¹) and generally the highest in anoxic hypolimnetic water. In 2000–2001, the bacterial abundance in the hypolimnion increased probably due to meromixis. During a productive season, heterotrophic bacteria were able to consume about 10–40% of primary production in the epilimnion. Our study showed that bacterioplankton in the epilimnion was top-down controlled by predators, while in metalimnion bacteria were dependent on energy and carbon sources (bottom-up regulated). Below the thermocline hypolimnetic bacteria mineralized organic matter what led to the depletion of oxygen and created anoxic hypolimnion where rich mineral nutrient and sulphide concentrations coexisted with high bacterial numbers.