Abstract
Isolation of most ultraviolet B (UV-B)-resistant culturable bacteria that occur in the habitat of Laguna Azul, a high-altitude wetland [4554 m above sea level (asl)] from the Northwestern Argentinean Andes, was carried out by culture-based methods. Water from this environment was exposed to UV-B radiation under laboratory conditions during 36 h, at an irradiance of 4.94 W/m2. It was found that the total number of bacteria in water samples decreased; however, most of the community survived long-term irradiation (312 nm) (53.3 kJ/m2). The percentage of bacteria belonging to dominant species did not vary significantly, depending on the number of UV irradiation doses. The most resistant microbes in the culturable community were Gram-positive pigmented species (Bacillus megaterium [endospores and/or vegetative cells], Staphylococcus saprophyticus, and Nocardia sp.). Only one Gram-negative bacterium could be cultivated (Acinetobacter johnsonii). Nocardia sp. that survived doses of 3201 kJ/m2 were the most resistant bacteria to UV-B treatment. This study is the first report on UV-B resistance of a microbial community isolated from high-altitude extreme environments, and proposes a method for direct isolation of UV-B-resistant bacteria from extreme irradiated environments.
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Acknowledgments
We thank Walter Helbling from EFPU for invaluable help in carrying out photobiology techniques in our laboratory; Dr. Javier Ochoa for his collaboration in statistical analyses; Geol. Fernando Lopez, for his assistance as a geologist and for driving Andeans roads, to “Chiche”; and Cristian, who rescued us in the cordillera truck incident. This work was supported by PEI-CONICET no. 6096, 6268, Fundación Antorchas no. 14248-133, PICT-Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica no. 14498, 13388. Verónica Fernandez Zenoff is a recipient of a CONICET fellowship.
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This article is dedicated to the memory of Carolina Colin.
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Zenoff, V.F., Heredia, J., Ferrero, M. et al. Diverse UV-B Resistance of Culturable Bacterial Community from High-Altitude Wetland Water. Curr Microbiol 52, 359–362 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-005-0241-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-005-0241-5