Gas Vacuolate Bacteria from the Sea Ice of Antarctica

Gas-vacuolate heterotrophic bacteria from marine habitats are reported here for the first time. They have been isolated from Antarctic sea ice microbial communities and the underlying water column. The predominant gas-vacuolate bacterium from the sea ice is filamentous and pigmented, whereas those of the water column are unicellular and nonpigmented. The highest concentrations of bacteria in sea ice were found in conjunction with the highest algal (chlorophyll a) concentrations.