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Microdistribution of sulfate-reducing bacteria in sediments of a hypertrophic lake and their response to the addition of organic matter

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Ecological Research

Abstract

To clarify the ecological significance of the association of sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) with sediment particle size, SRB utilizing lactate (l-SRB), propionate (p-SRB) and acetate (a-SRB) were examined with different sizes of sediment particles in a hypertrophic freshwater lake using the anaerobic plate count method. The numbers ofl-SRB anda-SRB were 104–105 colony forming units (CFU) per ml in the 0–3 cm layer and 102–103 CFU ml−1 in the 10–13 cm layer while the numbers ofp-SRB were one or two orders lower than those ofl-SRB anda-SRB. A sediment suspension was fractionated into four fractions (<1, 1–10, 10–94 and >94 μm). The highest proportions ofl-SRB anda-SRB were found in the 10–94 μm fraction: 66–97% forl-SRB and 53–98% fora-SRB. The highest proportion ofp-SRB was found in the >94 μm fraction (70–74%). These results indicate that most SRB were associated with sediment particles. One isolate from an acetate-utilizing enrichment culture was similar toDesulfotomaculum acetoxidans, a spore-forming sulfate-reducing bacterium. When lactate and sulfate were added to sediment samples,l-SRB anda-SRB in the <10 μm-fraction grew more rapidly than those in whole sediment for the first 2 days. This result suggests that nutrients uptake by free-living and small particle-associated (<10 μm) SRB is higher than that by SRB associated with larger particles.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Institute for Resources and Environment, AIST, MITI, Onogawa 16-3, 305, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan

    Manabu Fukui

  2. Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Minami-Ohsawa, 192-03, Hachiohji, Tokyo, Japan

    Susumu Takii

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  1. Manabu Fukui
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  2. Susumu Takii
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Fukui, M., Takii, S. Microdistribution of sulfate-reducing bacteria in sediments of a hypertrophic lake and their response to the addition of organic matter. Ecol. Res. 11, 257–267 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02347783

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02347783

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