Colorless sulfur bacteria Thioploca from different sites in Lake Baikal

• Published in: Microbiology (New York) Vol. 78; no. 1; pp. 117 - 124
• Main Authors: Zemskaya, T. I, Chernitsyna, S. M, Dul'tseva, N. M, Sergeeva, V. N, Pogodaeva, T. V, Namsaraev, B. B
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Dordrecht : SP MAIK Nauka/Interperiodica 01.02.2009; SP MAIK Nauka/Interperiodica
• Subjects: Bacteria; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Colony Count, Microbial; Ecosystem; Experimental Articles; Fresh Water - microbiology; Life Sciences; Medical Microbiology; Microbiology; Molecular Sequence Data; Phylogeny; RNA, Bacterial - genetics; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - genetics; Siberia; Sulfides - metabolism; Thioploca; Thioploca ingrica; Thiotrichaceae - classification; Thiotrichaceae - cytology; Thiotrichaceae - isolation & purification; Water Microbiology; Siberia; colorless sulfur bacteria; phylogeny; Lake Baikal; bottom sediments
• ISSN: 0026-2617; 0026-3656; 1608-3237
• DOI: 10.1134/s0026261709010159

The colorless sulfur bacteria Thioploca spp. found in Lake Baikal are probably a marker for the influx of subterranean mineralized fluids. Bacteria act as a biological filter; by consuming sulfide in their metabolism, they detoxicate it and maintain the purity of Lake Baikal's water. The bacteria were investigated by various techniques. According to analysis of the 16S rRNA gene fragment, Thioploca sp. from Frolikha Bay, Baikal belongs to the clade of freshwater species found in Lake Biwa and Lake Constance; it is most closely related to Thioploca ingrica.