Community Size and Metabolic Rates of Psychrophilic Sulfate-Reducing Bacteria in Arctic Marine Sediments |
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Authors: | Christian Knoblauch, Bo Barker J rgensen, Jens Harder |
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Affiliation: | Christian Knoblauch, Bo Barker Jørgensen, and Jens Harder |
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Abstract: | The numbers of sulfate reducers in two Arctic sediments with in situ temperatures of 2.6 and −1.7°C were determined. Most-probable-number counts were higher at 10°C than at 20°C, indicating the predominance of a psychrophilic community. Mean specific sulfate reduction rates of 19 isolated psychrophiles were compared to corresponding rates of 9 marine, mesophilic sulfate-reducing bacteria. The results indicate that, as a physiological adaptation to the permanently cold Arctic environment, psychrophilic sulfate reducers have considerably higher specific metabolic rates than their mesophilic counterparts at similarly low temperatures. |
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