Open AccessCompetition between anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria and colorless sulfur bacteria in a microbial mat
Author(s) -
Visscher Pieter T.,
Ende Frank P.,
Schaub Bartholomeus E.M.,
Gemerden Hans
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
fems microbiology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.899
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1574-6968
pISSN - 0378-1097
DOI - 10.1111/j.1574-6968.1992.tb05761.x
Subject(s) - anoxygenic photosynthesis , thiosulfate , phototroph , thiobacillus , sulfur , bacteria , population , chemocline , biology , environmental chemistry , chemistry , botany , organic chemistry , genetics , demography , sociology
The populations of chemolithoautotrophic (colorless) sulfur bacteria and anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria were enumerated in a marine microbial mat. The highest population densities were found in the 0–5 mm layer of the mat: 2.0 × 10 9 cells cm −3 sediment, and 4.0 × 10 7 cells cm −3 sediment for the colorless sulfur bacteria and phototrophs, respectively. Kinetic parameters for thiosulfate‐limited growth were assessed for Thiobacillus thioparus T5 and Thiocapsa roseopersicina M1, both isolated from microbial mats. For Thiobacillus T5, growing at a constant oxygen concentration of 43 μmol l −1 , μ max was 0.336 h −1 and K s 0.8 μmol l −1 . Phototrophically grown Thiocapsa strain M1 displayed a μ max of 0.080 h −1 and a K s of 8 μmol l −1 when anoxically grown under thiosulfate limitation. In a competition experiment with thiosulfate as electron donor, Thiocapsa became dominant during a 10‐h oxic/14‐h anoxic regimen at continuous illumination, despite the higher affinity for thiosulfate of Thiobacillus .