Investigation of the sulfate-reducing bacterial community in the aerobic water and chemocline zone of the Black Sea by the fish technique

• Published in: Microbiology (New York) Vol. 80; no. 1; pp. 108 - 116
• Main Authors: Bryukhanov, A. L, Korneeva, V. A, Kanapatskii, T. A, Zakharova, E. E, Men'ko, E. V, Rusanov, I. I, Pimenov, N. V
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Dordrecht : SP MAIK Nauka/Interperiodica 01.02.2011; SP MAIK Nauka/Interperiodica
• Subjects: Bacteria; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Desulfobacter; Desulfotomaculum; Desulfovibrio; Experimental Articles; Life Sciences; Medical Microbiology; Microbiology; fluorescent in situ hybridization; aerobic waters; sulfate-reducing bacteria; chemocline; Black Sea; meromictic basin
• ISSN: 0026-2617; 1608-3237
• DOI: 10.1134/S002626171101005X

Fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) was used to analyze the abundance and phylogenetic composition of sulfate-reducing bacteria in the aerobic waters and in the oxic/anoxic transitional zone (chemocline) of the Black Sea, where biogenic formation of reduced sulfur compounds was detected by radioisotope techniques. Numerous sulfate-reducing bacteria of the genera Desulfotomaculum (30.5% of detected bacterial cells), Desulfovibrio (29.6%), and Desulfobacter (6.7%) were revealed in the aerobic zone at a depth of 30 m, while Desulfomicrobium-related bacteria (33.5%) were prevalent in the upper chemocline waters at 150-m depth. Active cells of sulfate-reducing bacteria were much more abundant in the samples collected in summer than in the winter samples from the deep-sea zone. The presence of physiologically active sulfate reducers in oxic and chemocline waters of the Black Sea correlates with the hydrochemical data on the presence of reduced sulfur compounds in the aerobic water column.