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Adenine incorporation into DNA as a measure of microbial production in freshwaters
Author(s) -
Bell Russell T.,
Riemann Bo
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.4319/lo.1989.34.2.0435
Subject(s) - algae , bacterioplankton , biology , bacteria , eutrophication , thymidine , heterotroph , microorganism , dna synthesis , scenedesmus , biochemistry , dna , assimilation (phonology) , environmental chemistry , botany , chemistry , ecology , phytoplankton , nutrient , genetics , linguistics , philosophy
The use of [ 3 H]adenine incorporation into DNA as a means of estimating total microbial production in freshwaters was assessed with both algal cultures and natural assemblages of microorganisms. By adding [ 3 H]adenine over a wide range of concentrations (10–200 nM), we determined that in mesotrophic and eutrophic environments >50 nM and probably >100 nM of [ 3 H]adenine is required to maximally label the internal precursor pools of both algae and bacteria. With bacterioplankton assemblages the incorporation of [ 3 H]thymidine and [ 3 H]adenine gave equivalent estimates of DNA synthesis. Growth rates of Scenedesmus in turbidostats determined from 14 C assimilation and [ 3 H]adenine incorporation (DNA synthesis) also agreed well. Our results suggest that the use of [ 3 H]adenine to measure total microbial (bacteria + algae) production combined with the use of [ 3 H]thymidine to measure “bacterial” production could provide an interesting complement to current procedures.