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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, February 1999, p. 795-801, Vol. 65, No. 2
0099-2240/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Changes in Bacterial and Eukaryotic Community Structure after Mass Lysis of Filamentous Cyanobacteria Associated with Virusesdagger

Erik J. van Hannen,* Gabriel Zwart, Miranda P. van Agterveld, Herman J. Gons, Jeannine Ebert, and Hendrikus J. Laanbroek

Department of Microbial Ecology, Centre for Limnology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology, 3600 BG Maarssen, The Netherlands

Received 5 October 1998/Accepted 19 November 1998

During an experiment in two laboratory-scale enclosures filled with lake water (130 liters each) we noticed the almost-complete lysis of the cyanobacterial population. Based on electron microscopic observations of viral particles inside cyanobacterial filaments and counts of virus-like particles, we concluded that a viral lysis of the filamentous cyanobacteria had taken place. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of 16S ribosomal DNA fragments qualitatively monitored the removal of the cyanobacterial species from the community and the appearance of newly emerging bacterial species. The majority of these bacteria were related to the Cytophagales and actinomycetes, bacterial divisions known to contain species capable of degrading complex organic molecules. A few days after the cyanobacteria started to lyse, a rotifer species became dominant in the DGGE profile of the eukaryotic community. Since rotifers play an important role in the carbon transfer between the microbial loop and higher trophic levels, these observations confirm the role of viruses in channeling carbon through food webs. Multidimensional scaling analysis of the DGGE profiles showed large changes in the structures of both the bacterial and eukaryotic communities at the time of lysis. These changes were remarkably similar in the two enclosures, indicating that such community structure changes are not random but occur according to a fixed pattern. Our findings strongly support the idea that viruses can structure microbial communities.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Dept. of Microbial Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology, Centre for Limnology, P.O. Box 1299, 3600 BG Maarssen, The Netherlands. Phone: 31 (0)294 239315. Fax: 31 (0)294 232224. E-mail: vanhannen{at}cl.nioo.knaw.nl.

dagger Publication no. 2483 of the Netherlands Institute of Ecology, Centre for Limnology.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, February 1999, p. 795-801, Vol. 65, No. 2
0099-2240/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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