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Two Distinct Photobacterium Populations Thrive in Ancient Mediterranean Sapropels

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Abstract

Eastern Mediterranean sediments are characterized by the periodic occurrence of conspicuous, organic matter-rich sapropel layers. Phylogenetic analysis of a large culture collection isolated from these sediments revealed that about one third of the isolates belonged to the genus Photobacterium. In the present study, 22 of these strains were examined with respect to their phylogenetic and metabolic diversity. The strains belonged to two distinct Photobacterium populations (Mediterranean cluster I and II). Strains of cluster I were isolated almost exclusively from organic-rich sapropel layers and were closely affiliated with P. aplysiae (based on their 16S rRNA gene sequences). They possessed almost identical Enterobacterial Repetitive Intergenic Consensus (ERIC) and substrate utilization patterns, even among strains from different sampling sites or from layers differing up to 100,000 years in age. Strains of cluster II originated from sapropels and from the surface and carbon-lean intermediate layers. They were related to Photobacterium frigidiphilum but differed significantly in their fingerprint patterns and substrate spectra, even when these strains were obtained from the same sampling site and layer. Temperature range for growth (4 to 33°C), salinity tolerance (5 to 100‰), pH requirements (5.5–9.3), and the composition of polar membrane lipids were similar for both clusters. All strains grew by fermentation (glucose, organic acids) and all but five by anaerobic respiration (nitrate, dimethyl sulfoxide, anthraquinone disulfonate, or humic acids). These results indicate that the genus Photobacterium forms subsurface populations well adapted to life in the deep biosphere.

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Acknowledgments

The support of the scientific party of RV Meteor cruises M40/4 and M51/3, with Christoph Hemleben as chief scientist is gratefully acknowledged. We thank two anonymous reviewers for their support and valuable discussion. Jürgen Rullkötter, Jürgen Köster, and Bernd Kopke are acknowledged for providing facilities for phospholipid analysis and for experimental help. This work was supported by a grant of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.

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  1. Institut für Chemie und Biologie des Meeres, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Carl von Ossietzky Straße 9-11, 26111, Oldenburg, Germany

    Jacqueline Süß, Kerstin Herrmann, Michael Seidel, Heribert Cypionka, Bert Engelen & Henrik Sass

  2. School of Earth, Ocean and Planetary Science, Cardiff University, Main Building, Park Place, Cardiff, CF10 3YE, Wales, UK

    Henrik Sass

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  1. Jacqueline Süß
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  2. Kerstin Herrmann
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Correspondence to Henrik Sass.

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Süß, J., Herrmann, K., Seidel, M. et al. Two Distinct Photobacterium Populations Thrive in Ancient Mediterranean Sapropels. Microb Ecol 55, 371–383 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-007-9282-6

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