Microbial Mats pp 253-273 | Cite as

Diversity and Role of Cyanobacteria and Aerobic Heterotrophic Microorganisms in Carbon Cycling in Arid Cyanobacterial Mats

  • Raeid M. M. Abed
  • Katharina Kohls
  • Katarzyna A Palinska
  • Stjepko Golubic
Chapter
First Online:
Part of the Cellular Origin, Life in Extreme Habitats and Astrobiology book series (COLE, volume 14)

Abstract

Large areas of the intertidal flats of the Arabian Gulf are inhabited by different types of cyanobacterial mats (pustular, flat, pinnacle, convoluted, and gelatinous). These mats vary in their pigmentation, shape, and microbial composition depending on their position and the environmental conditions they are exposed to. The temperature in this region may exceed 50°C in hot summers, salinity ranges between 6% and 20% depending on the closeness to the water line, and the UV and light intensity are high, causing some of the mats to completely desiccate. Using culture-dependent, molecular, and microsensor techniques, the diversity of cyanobacteria and aerobic heterotrophic microorganisms and the role of their key processes (i.e., oxygenic photosynthesis and respiration, respectively) in carbon cycling in the uppermost layer of different mats was studied. The difficulty of obtaining axenic cultures of cyanobacteria may be due to the close association of the two groups. While cyanobacteria fuel mat microorganisms with organics via photosynthesis and fermentation processes, aerobic heterotrophs in the oxic layers of mats utilize these organics and produce carbon dioxide, which is then made available for cyanobacterial photosynthesis. Cyanobacteria in these mats include Microcoleus chthonoplastes, Lyngbya aestuarii, Entophysalis major, Schizothrix splendida, and some unicellular scytonemin-containing cyanobacteria, whereas the aerobic heteroptrophs belonged primarily to Bacteriodetes, Proteobacteria, the Chloroflexus group, and many others. Rates of photosynthesis and light respiration were regulated by salinity and temperature. Both processes remained coupled and their rates decreased with increasing salinities. The mats at the lowest tidal zones exhibited the highest rates of photosynthesis and light respiration. The rates of the two processes also decreased with increasing temperatures. Photosynthesis and light respiration rates are regulated by salinity and temperature in order to maintain the relationship between organic production and decomposition, which determines the accretion rates of mats.

Keywords

Aerobic Respiration Oxic Layer Aerobic Heterotrophic Bacterium Aerobic Heterotroph Oxygenic Phototroph 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2010

Authors and Affiliations

  • Raeid M. M. Abed
    • 1
  • Katharina Kohls
    • 2
  • Katarzyna A Palinska
    • 3
  • Stjepko Golubic
    • 4
  1. 1.College of Science, Biology DepartmentSultan Qaboos UniversityAl KhoudSultanate of Oman
  2. 2.Max Planck Institute for Marine MicrobiologyBremenGermany
  3. 3.Institute of Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment, Geomicrobiology DepartmentCarl von Ossietzky University of OldenburgOldenburgGermany
  4. 4.Biological Science CenterBoston UniversityBostonUSA

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