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S cycling: Characterization of natural communities of sulfate-reducing bacteria by 165 rRNA sequence comparisons

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Abstract

Past studies of microbial communities responsible for geochemical transformations have been limited by an inability to representatively cultivate, and then identify, the constituent members. Ribosomal RNA sequences, particularly 16S-like rRNAs, provide a measure of phylogenetic relationship that can now be used to examine the structure and diversity of microbial communities. Sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) play an important role in the sulfur cycle and the terminal mineralization of organic matter in estuarine and marine environments. Because the Gram-negative mesophilic SRB comprise a phylogenetically coherent assemblage, their communities are well suited to explorations through rRNA sequence-based methodologies. In this study we related molecular biological methods using rRNA probes to geochemical measurements at two different sites. At an unvegetated site in northwest Florida, rates of sulfate reduction were low and SRB rRNA comprised about 5% of the total rRNA extracted from the sediment. The other site, a salt marsh in New Hampshire, had higher rates of sulfate-reduction with SRB rRNA accounting for up to 30% of the total rRNA extracted from the sediment. SRB community structure differed dramatically between the two sites with Desulfobulbus rRNA much less abundant in the unvegetated site than in the salt marsh. The differences in these SRB communities reflect differences in the ecology of their habitats.

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Author notes

  1. M. E. Hines

    Present address: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alaska Anchorage, 99508, Anchorage, AK, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Microbial Ecology, United States Environmental Protection Agency, 1 Sabine Island Drive, 32561, Gulf Breeze, FI, USA

    R. Devereux

  2. Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space, University of New Hampshire, 39 Morse Hall, 03824, Durham, NH, USA

    M. E. Hines

  3. Department of Civil Engineering, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, 60208, Evanston, IL, USA

    D. A. Stahl

Authors
  1. R. Devereux
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  2. M. E. Hines
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  3. D. A. Stahl
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Additional information

Contribution No. 917 from the Gulf Ecology Division, NHEERL, Gulf Breeze, FL.

Correspondence to: R. Devereux.

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Devereux, R., Hines, M.E. & Stahl, D.A. S cycling: Characterization of natural communities of sulfate-reducing bacteria by 165 rRNA sequence comparisons. Microb Ecol 32, 283–292 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00183063

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00183063

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