Premium
Acquisition of iron by Trichodesmium and associated bacteria in culture
Author(s) -
Roe Kelly L.,
Barbeau Katherine,
Mann Elizabeth L.,
Haygood Margo G.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
environmental microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.954
H-Index - 188
eISSN - 1462-2920
pISSN - 1462-2912
DOI - 10.1111/j.1462-2920.2011.02653.x
Subject(s) - trichodesmium , aerobactin , biology , siderophore , bacteria , microorganism , ferric , microbiology and biotechnology , nitrogen fixation , enterobacteriaceae , diazotroph , biochemistry , gene , chemistry , genetics , escherichia coli , organic chemistry
Summary Trichodesmium colonies contain an abundant microbial consortium that is likely to play a role in nutrient cycling within the colony. This study used laboratory cultures of Trichodesmium and two genome‐sequenced strains of bacteria typical of Trichodesmium ‐associated microbes to develop an understanding of the cycling of iron, a potentially limiting micronutrient, within Trichodesmium colonies. We found that the ferric siderophores desferrioxamine B and aerobactin were not readily bioavailable to Trichodesmium , relative to ferric chloride or citrate‐associated iron. In contrast, the representative bacterial strains we studied were able to acquire iron from all of the iron sources, implying that naturally occurring Trichodesmium ‐associated bacteria may be capable of utilizing a more diverse array of iron sources than Trichodesmium . From the organism‐specific uptake data collected in this study, a theoretical Trichodesmium colony was designed to model whole colony iron uptake. The bacteria accounted for most (> 70%) of the iron acquired by the colony, highlighting the importance of determining organism‐specific uptake in a complex environment. Our findings suggest that, although they may share the same micro‐environment, Trichodesmium and its colony‐associated microbial cohort may differ substantially in terms of iron acquisition strategy.