This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Chénier, M. R.
Right arrow Articles by Greer, C. W.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Chénier, M. R.
Right arrow Articles by Greer, C. W.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Chénier, M. R.
Right arrow Articles by Greer, C. W.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, September 2003, p. 5170-5177, Vol. 69, No. 9
0099-2240/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.69.9.5170-5177.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Impact of Seasonal Variations and Nutrient Inputs on Nitrogen Cycling and Degradation of Hexadecane by Replicated River Biofilms

Martin R. Chénier,1,2 Danielle Beaumier,1 Réal Roy,3 Brian T. Driscoll,2 John R. Lawrence,4 and Charles W. Greer1*

Biotechnology Research Institute, National Research Council of Canada, Montreal, Quebec H4P 2R2,1 Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec H9X 3V9,2 Department of Biology, University of Victoria, Station CSC Victoria, British Columbia V8W 3N5,3 National Water Research Institute, Environment Canada, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 3H5, Canada4

Received 26 February 2003/ Accepted 16 June 2003

Biofilm communities cultivated in rotating annular bioreactors using water from the South Saskatchewan River were assessed for the effects of seasonal variations and nutrient (C, N, and P) additions. Confocal laser microscopy revealed that while control biofilms were consistently dominated by bacterial biomass, the addition of nutrients shifted biofilms of summer and fall water samples to phototrophic-dominated communities. In nutrient-amended biofilms, similar patterns of nitrification, denitrification, and hexadecane mineralization rates were observed for winter and spring biofilms; fall biofilms had the highest rates of nitrification and hexadecane mineralization, and summer biofilms had the highest rates of denitrification. Very low rates of all measured activities were detected in control biofilms (without nutrient addition) regardless of season. Nutrient addition caused large increases in hexadecane mineralization and denitrification rates but only modest increases, if any, in nitrification rates, depending upon the season. Generally, both alkB and nirK were more readily PCR amplified from nutrient-amended biofilms. Both genes were amplified from all samples except for nirK from the fall control biofilm. It appears that bacterial production in the South Saskatchewan River water is limited by the availability of nutrients and that biofilm activities and composition vary with nutrient availability and time of year.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Biotechnology Research Institute, National Research Council of Canada, 6100 Royalmont Ave., Montreal, Quebec, Canada H4P 2R2. Phone: (514) 496-6182. Fax: (514) 496-6265. E-mail: charles.greer{at}cnrc-nrc.gc.ca.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, September 2003, p. 5170-5177, Vol. 69, No. 9
0099-2240/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.69.9.5170-5177.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Lawrence, J. R., Zhu, B., Swerhone, G. D. W., Topp, E., Roy, J., Wassenaar, L. I., Rema, T., Korber, D. R. (2008). Community-Level Assessment of the Effects of the Broad-Spectrum Antimicrobial Chlorhexidine on the Outcome of River Microbial Biofilm Development. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 74: 3541-3550 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Chenier, M. R., Beaumier, D., Fortin, N., Roy, R., Driscoll, B. T., Lawrence, J. R., Greer, C. W. (2006). Influence of Nutrient Inputs, Hexadecane, and Temporal Variations on Denitrification and Community Composition of River Biofilms. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 72: 575-584 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Lawrence, J. R., Chenier, M. R., Roy, R., Beaumier, D., Fortin, N., Swerhone, G. D. W., Neu, T. R., Greer, C. W. (2004). Microscale and Molecular Assessment of Impacts of Nickel, Nutrients, and Oxygen Level on Structure and Function of River Biofilm Communities. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 70: 4326-4339 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»