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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, February 2001, p. 799-807, Vol. 67, No. 2
0099-2240/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/AEM.67.2.799-807.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Phylogenetic and Functional Heterogeneity of Sediment Biofilms along Environmental Gradients in a Glacial Stream

Tom J. Battin,1,* Anton Wille,2 Birgit Sattler,2 and Roland Psenner2

Institute of Ecology and Conservation Biology, University of Vienna, A-1090 Vienna,1 and Institute of Zoology and Limnology, University of Innsbruck, A-6020 Innsbruck,2 Austria

Received 28 July 2000/Accepted 1 November 2000

We used in situ hybridization with fluorescently labeled rRNA-targeted oligonucleotide probes concurrently with measurements of bacterial carbon production, biomass, and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) to describe the bacterial community in sediments along a glacial stream. The abundance of sediment-associated Archaea, as detected with the ARCH915 probe, decreased downstream of the glacier snout, and a major storm increased their relative abundance by a factor of 5.5 to 7.9. Bacteria of the Cytophaga-Flavobacterium group were also sixfold to eightfold more abundant in the storm aftermath. Furthermore, elevated numbers of Archaea and members of the Cytophaga-Flavobacterium group characterized the phylogenetic composition of the supraglacial ice community. We postulate that glacial meltwaters constitute a possible source of allochthonous bacteria to the stream biofilms. Although stream water temperature increased dramatically from the glacier snout along the stream (3.5 km), sediment chlorophyll a was the best predictor for bacterial carbon production and specific growth rates along the stream. Concomitant with an increase in sediment chlorophyll a, the EPS carbohydrate-to-bacterial-cell ratio declined 11- to 15-fold along the stream prior to the storm, which is indicative of a larger biofilm matrix in upstream reaches. We assume that a larger biofilm matrix is required to assure prolonged transient storage and enzymatic processing of allochthonous macromolecules, which are likely the major substrate for microbial heterotrophs. Bacteria of the Cytophaga-Flavobacterium cluster, which are well known to degrade complex macromolecules, were most abundant in these stream reaches. Downstream, higher algal biomass continuously supplies heterotrophs with easily available exudates, therefore making a larger matrix unnecessary. As a result, bacterial carbon production and specific growth rates were higher in downstream reaches.

* Corresponding author. Present address: Stroud Water Research Center, 970 Spencer Road, Avondale, PA 19311. Phone: 610-268-2153. Fax: 610-268-0490. E-mail: tbattin{at}Stroudcenter.org.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, February 2001, p. 799-807, Vol. 67, No. 2
0099-2240/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/AEM.67.2.799-807.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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